Dashed Hopes
by L.M. Avalon
Summary: Kagome comes out of an abusive relationship with her younger brother and adopted son in her care. Can she build a new life with new friends, or is trust no longer an option? Especially when the old boyfriend still wants her. AU. Inu/Kag. Mir/San.
1. First Impressions

This is an AU that takes place in modern Tokyo. Inuyasha and everyone else is human. Hope you enjoy!

Edited: 7/8/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter One: First Impressions

* * *

Sakura Hide-Away, or the SHA as the employees preferred to call it, was a building where abused women and children could find safety. This time, this woman, was no different.

Sango Taijai's shift was nearly over when Kagome Higurashi first arrived. The brunette had just licked the tip of her finger and flipped a page over, her warm brown eyes scanning a mildly interesting article in her magazine, when the small bell hung over the entrance rang. Immediately, she swung her feet down from the top of the front desk and dropped her magazine, scrambling to hide the fact that she had been anything less than the perfect employee. Ready to greet the newcomer, Sango schooled her face into a gently neutral expression. Like all the others, the young woman walking through the doorway looked nervous.

Sango allowed a welcoming smile to overtake her lips in an attempt to quell the younger girl's nerves.

She took in the sight with practiced eyes; Sango had been working at the SHA for the last four years, since she'd volunteered at only age eighteen. In that time, she had learned how to note details quickly and efficiently, seeing what most couldn't at first glance. The woman just entering was petite with wavy black hair that fell to mid-back. It was currently pulled into a loose, low ponytail at the nape of her neck. Heavy black bangs covered her forehead since the woman had her face angled towards the ground. She wore nice clothes: an emerald green pencil skirt and an expensive white blouse. Business clothes. As the woman lifted her head, she revealed stormy blue-gray eyes and...

...A large cut at her temple, the bloody gash stark against her pale skin.

The woman couldn't have been more than twenty or twenty-one years old, Sango figured, still cataloguing what information she could in what little time she had. Clinging tightly to her right arm was a pre-teen boy, probably eleven or so. He had deep, chocolate brown eyes filled with nothing but fear and sorrow. Wrapped in the girl's left arm was a young, redheaded boy with blue-green eyes alight with curiosity.

"Excuse me, we need a place to stay for the night," the young woman stated quietly but politely.

Sango nodded in understanding. "Then you found the right place. We don't want to pry, but we need to know a few things first," she started, using the standard employee line and poising a pen over a notebook lying on the desk. The woman flinched as if she'd been struck. Letting anyone know anything had not been the plan. Sango placed her hands out in front of her like a makeshift shield. Frantically, she tried to explain. "Just your first names and your relationship to the boys. Nothing else, I swear."

The blue-eyed woman hesitated, her grip on the boys tightening. "My name's Kagome. This is my younger brother, Souta, and my adopted son, Shippou. Anything else?" she questioned with a delicately arched eyebrow, her mouth set in a thin line. She looked as if she were bracing herself for a quick escape.

"No, that's it. Please, come with me," Sango ordered gently. She stood and paused by the edge of her desk, waiting for Kagome to make the choice. For a moment, the girl looked like she was hovering between the idea of running and following, but, with one last look at the trembling boys holding onto her, she squared her shoulders and stepped to Sango's side. Sango's smile broadened. Just something about Kagome made her like her. Even though she had obviously been harmed by someone—why else would she be here?— she looked less hysterical and stronger than many of the others who visited the SHA. Whenever a woman like that made it to the shelter, Sango felt hope knowing that not everyone only played the victim.

The brunette led the way to a long hallway lined with doors. Stopping at the room at the very end, she offered: "I'm Sango."

Kagome's lips stretched into a stiff but sincere smile. "Nice to meet you, Sango."

Souta started at the sound of his sister's voice. He stared up at her profile, his eyes shadowed. Maybe she'd make it through this after all, he wondered when he noticed her smile. He really didn't want the responsibility of taking care of his older sister. He pulled a disgusted face at the thought, but the girls didn't seem to notice.

"I'm sorry to say that there's only one bed per room; unless, of course, you want to split up," Sango informed apologetically.

Kagome's pale face turned impossibly whiter. "No, no, this is perfect! I'd rather stay near them. Plus, it wouldn't be fair to take up more room than we need to."

Sango definitely liked this girl, but she had to hold back an incredulous laugh. The girl had been beaten and run out of her home, along with her son and brother, and she was worried about taking up too much room at a shelter? Selfless to a fault, Sango predicted. Reminding herself that she was working, she took on a more distant persona once again. "That's fine. You can come to the main room in half an hour to pick up some dinner."

Something about what she'd said seemed to surprise the other girl. "What time is it?" Kagome demanded, flustered and grabbing Sango by the shoulder to stop the older woman when she started to walk away. Mentally, Kagome ticked off the hours. She had left with the boys just after noon. As warped as time felt at the moment, she couldn't figure out how it was already dinner time.

Sango glanced quickly at her watch. "It's a quarter to seven."

"Oh," Kagome gasped, clearly surprised.

Sango looked at her in bemusement as she patiently pried Kagome's hand off, but didn't question the girl any further. "Okay, I'll be right outside at the desk if you need me," she reminded as she walked back out the doorway of the small room and back into the hall. As she got further away, something tickled the back of her mind, wanting attention. Frustrated, she shuffled through her thoughts, searching for the thing she'd forgotten. Snapping her fingers, she turned on her heel and darted back to Kagome's room. "Wait!" she said, popping her head back in. "Your cut!"

"What cut?" Kagome reached up automatically to touch her forehead. Bringing her hand down she rubbed her forefinger and thumb together to feel the sticky liquid coating her fingertips. "I didn't realize he'd hit me that hard," she murmured, more surprised that the wound was still bleeding than that it was there in the first place.

Sango frowned. The woman obviously had been so wrapped up in the boys' safety that she'd forgotten about her own. Sighing, Sango left, only to return quickly with a medical case in tow. She reached up, placed her hands on Kagome's shoulders, and pushed down until the girl sat on the edge of the bed. The shelter employee expertly cleaned the wound out with peroxide and put a fresh bandage on. At least now it wouldn't fester and get infected.

The boys hadn't spoken a word since they'd arrived. Shippou and Souta curled up next to each other on the bed, staring with half-lidded eyes at Kagome. She smoothed down their hair and ran a hand soothingly across each of their foreheads once her cut had been tended to, silently thankful that they hadn't been hurt like she had been.

"I..." Sango started off embarrassedly, feeling as if she was intruding on a moment. "I don't want to be offensive, but you don't look very comfortable." She nodded towards Kagome's skirt, blouse, and high heels. "Would you mind if I brought you something to change into? I always bring some clothes with me in case one of the girls here needs something."

Kagome frowned at her sore, blistered feet. She tried to wriggle her toes, but they were numb and stiff. "Thanks. That'd be great."

"Okay, hang on." Sango crept out of the room to find her things. Around the corner, she approached a large closet. Inside, next to her jacket and purse, was a large bag full of clothes of varying sizes, ostly women's clothes, but some kids'. Sango's lifted the bag into her arms and returned to Kagome's room, thanking the fact that her father had been a successful businessman. She had a lot of spending money to use on shopping for items for the women at the shelter. She wanted to do as much for them as she could.

Sango dumped the bag onto the bed next to Kagome and the boys. Diving into it, she pulled out several things. "I'm sorry I don't have a bigger choice. Hopefully you can find something to fit you."

It had been a long time since Kagome had encountered someone so helpful and nice. A small part of her flared to life, fueled by the idea of feeling something other than fear and worry for once. She suppressed the urge give Sango a hug for being so thoughtful, knowing that the woman was doing all this because it was part of her job. She sifted through the pile of clothing and pulled out some loose fitting clothes and more comfortable shoes. "Oh, this is great, thanks."

"Do you want a jacket?" Sango asked, pulling out a couple as she did.

"No, I'm fine." Kagome shook her head. "Why? It's not cold."

Sango shrugged uncomfortably. "It's just... most of the women here don't like to wear clothing that shows a lot of their skin. I just thought you might, too."

Kagome repeated her earlier action of shaking her head. "No. It doesn't bother me." She turned her head away and lowered her eyes, thinking about the other women in the shelter. Being abused had made them feel ugly or scared to be comfortable if it meant that it might attract another person's attention. Some might not even show their arms in fear of others seeing bruises and other signs of physical abuse. She swallowed hard and pushed her thoughts away. After shooing Sango and the boys out of the room, she changed into the new clothes.

"Let's go get some food into you guys," Sango suggested once Kagome came out of the room and shut the door behind her.

As if on cue, all three of their stomachs rumbled audibly. The blue-eyed girl nodded, embarrassed. "I think that might be a good idea." They hadn't eaten since that morning.

Sango smiled, mentally noting she had been doing that a lot lately, and led them across the building. It wasn't all that full, there being fewer women housed in the shelter than normal. Whether that was a good sign or a bad one, Sango wasn't sure. Scattered around the room, huddled figures chewed their food and kept their eyes turned away from everyone else. Kagome stopped in the doorway and shuddered, feeling the thick air press against her, almost as if it wanted to smother her with the depressed atmosphere.

Souta took Shippou by the hand and dragged him away to explore, not noticing the menacing feeling. Sango watched the two boys, whose voices she had yet to hear, run off before turning to their guardian. The corners of her mouth turned down in understanding. "It's not something you ever get used to," she said quietly, meaning the repressing atmosphere of the shelter. Kagome looked back at the brunette and the two shared a look that expressed a shared wish that this wasn't reality. And a friendship was born.

Within a few minutes, the two women had grabbed food and were sitting at a corner table, chatting about things in general. Relaxed now, Kagome was more open and friendly than she had seemed when she had first arrived. She sat cross-legged on the bench and talked around mouthfuls about how nice the weather had been lately. Sango smiled, inwardly marveling at what she had found herself doing. True, Sango was always nice and helpful, but this was the first time she had ever eaten with one of the women in the shelter. She'd been taught to be compassionate, but not to mix with the residents. Getting attached could prove painful. But with Kagome it felt safe.

It felt good.

Sango had been hanging out with her two best friends since she was a little girl, but they were both guys. Manly guys, not ones that would do girl talk or shopping or gossiping or anything else remotely feminine. Not that she didn't want them as her friends; she just hadn't had girl time for a long time.

* * *

Miroku Houshi climbed from the driver's seat of his black Lexus. His shaggy black hair, which was tied in a tiny ponytail at the nape of his neck, swayed in the wind as his eyes scanned the front of the Sakura Hide-Away. He may have been a bit of a pervert, but he did have his gentleman-like qualities. Miroku would never lay a hand on any woman at the shelter; that was just wrong. In other words, he kept his 'wandering hands' inactive for any and all visits to the SHA.

If only Sango could get him to act that way everywhere.

Walking into the lunchroom, his eyes searched the tables for one of his best friends. He found it odd when he saw Sango eating lunch with a woman there. He found it even odder that Sango was talking and laughing in a way that she hadn't done with anyone other than her younger brother, Kohaku, for a long time. Not since a certain day the year before, that is.

Struggling to not show his surprise, Miroku approached and stood behind the girl who'd seemed to have befriended Sango so quickly; he waved and smiled at the brunette, who waved and smiled easily back at him.

"Hey, Miroku," Sango sang out happily, grin still firmly in place.

Miroku couldn't help but think that she looked even more beautiful when she smiled. "Hello, Sango," he replied, his smile curving his lips more noticeably than before.

Kagome looked over her shoulder and greeted the newcomer with a nod of her head. Sango had just finished her umpteenth story about her best friend Miroku and his lecherous ways. Predictably, at least for him, Miroku gaped when he saw Kagome turn around. She really was a beauty with those blue-gray eyes, but his attention only lingered on her for a few moments before ultimately returning to Sango.

Kagome smiled widely at this, already guessing at his feelings for her new friend... but then she frowned when a shocked look passed the young man's face. "What? Does no one smile around here or something?"

"No, Kagome, it just isn't that common," Sango explained. "This is Miroku," she nodded towards the man who was in his early twenties; actually only a year older than herself, which made him twenty-three.

Miroku grasped the hand that Kagome held out. "I'm Kagome," she greeted. "Nice to meet you, Miroku."

Miroku nodded. "You, too."

"Join us, won't you?" Kagome asked, all politeness once again.

He paused, considering his options. One look at Sango made his hand twitch, his fingers aching to grope her. Decision made, he sat down next to Kagome to help quell the lecherous urges coursing through his body. In a relaxed kind of way, he leaned his elbow against the table and turned toward the younger girl with an easy smile. Figuring he should probably strike up a conversation with her, his mouth opened, ready to comment on some neutral topic or another. Before any words could escape, however, they were interrupted.

"Mom!"A young green-eyed boy squealed as he landed in Kagome's lap. Miroku guessed he was roughly six years old, but exceptionally small for his age. _Mom_? He thought in a surprised sort of way. Kagome was barely twenty-one as far as he could tell. Teen pregnancy often went hand in hand with other issues like abusive relationships, he felt, although he did know that many such pregnancies had happy endings.

Shippou bounced excitedly in Kagome's lap; she glanced away from him and back at Miroku before laughing at the look on his face. "Adopted," she clarified simply.

"Souta found a candy machine! Can we have some money? Please?" Shippou cut her off from anything more she might have said.

Arching an eyebrow at her son, Kagome asked, "Do you remember what happened the last time you had chocolate?"

Shippou's bottom lip puckered out and his eyes grew round. After a second, his innocent look turned more sheepish when Kagome refused to yield, and he tried to negotiate instead. "How about I don't get a chocolate bar and get a bag of some other kind of candy or something?"

Kagome could never say no to those big, green eyes. Reaching into a pocket, she grabbed her wallet with a sigh of defeat, happy she'd remembered to transfer it over from her last outfit. She placed a few bills in Shippou's hand, which immediately fisted around them. Souta arrived a few seconds later and eyed his triumphant nephew. "Does some of that go to me?" he asked, turning towards his sister.

"Of course, Souta," Kagome replied in a tone that implied he was silly for even asking. Souta stuck his tongue out at her and tried to run away when Kagome jumped up. She grabbed him and tickled his sides mercilessly.

"Ok, ok, I give!" he shouted before running away with Shippou.

"Little brothers," Kagome muttered as she sat back down. She was greeted by two grins. "What?"

"Nothing. Just that that's the most laughter I've heard around here for awhile," Sango chuckled.

Miroku nodded in agreement.

Kagome shrugged before taking a sip through the straw sticking out of her milk carton.

Rapping his knuckles against the table top, Miroku made a decision. He looked towards Sango with pleading eyes, waiting until her attention was drawn to him. She could tell he wanted something. Once Kagome was turned away, she mouthed, 'What?'

'The parade,' was his reply.

'What about it?'

'Kagome...?' Miroku asked hopefully, tilting his head in the newcomer's direction.

Sango blinked back at him, working their silent conversation over in her mind. Miroku wanted Kagome to come to the parade with them? As soon as she realized that that was what he was asking, she bit her lip and heaved a sigh. Would Kagome think they were being too forward? They had just met, after all. In fact, beyond first names, they barely knew anything about each other. Not to mention it would probably be frowned upon if she, an employee, took one of women from the shelter out to a parade. On the other hand, she and Kagome had felt, if not an _instant_ connection, at least a very quick and honest connection with one another. Plus, she was so different from the other abused girls. Taking a deep breath, she decided to risk it. "Hey, Kagome?"

Kagome looked up from the final crumbs of her meal. "Hm?" she asked, crumpling up her milk carton and setting it on her tray.

"Would you like to go to the Night Parade with Miroku and me tonight? Souta and Shippou would have so much fun!"

A few seconds passed before blue eyes sparkled. "We'd love to! We love parades," Kagome agreed, feeling all the stress from the beginning of the day melt away.

Sango's expression brightened. "Great!"

Glancing at his watch, Miroku announced, "It starts in an hour. We should probably get a move on if we want good spots... if that's even still possible."

Kagome nodded in understanding and lifted herself from her seat and went in search of her boys. Sango and Miroku could hear the shouts all the way back at their table. Chuckling, they both grinned, happy to find a new friend.

**Next Chapter: Near Accident**


	2. Near Accident

FYI: I'm using the eye colors from the manga, not the anime. Also, don't forget that everyone is human in this story.

Edited: 7/8/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

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Dashed Hopes

Chapter Two: Near Accident

* * *

The new group of friends made their way out of the shelter. It was the beginning of autumn, so the nights were a nice temperature somewhere between too hot and too cold. Instead, it was just perfect enough for a night out without jackets.

Miroku walked up to his car looking sheepish. He expected Kagome and her little family to go into shock at the sight of his expensive car, but they didn't. Miroku tried to share a confused look with Sango over the roof of his Lexus, but she shrugged at him, not understanding what he was trying to tell her. Meanwhile, the three got into the back seat like it was just any other car.

Finally catching sight of Miroku, Kagome mumbled, "I have a green one of these at home."

Nodding, the two friends got in the front seats, and Sango recalled the expensive clothes Kagome had shown up in and decided that the young woman own a Lexus didn't seem as confusing once that was taken into account. The shelter just wasn't used to women with good money coming to the SHA. Not that any of that mattered to Sango; money did not make someone a good friend.

In the back, the boys sat on either side, staring out the windows at the passing scenery.

"I always loved this parade," Miroku told them in a nostalgic tone of voice from the driver's seat.

Sango grinned, "Me too." She looked over her shoulder at Kagome to see what she had to say about it, trying her best to keep conversation going and stop things from getting awkward.

"I've only gone once; we just moved here last year," Kagome explained. "But the time we did go, it was beautiful. All those lights!" She trailed off, also turning her attention outside the window, her expression thoughtful.

Sango left her to her daydreaming and looked at the busy streets instead. So many people lived in Tokyo; it was amazing. The sides of the street were swarming with people going everywhere imaginable, each minding their own business and going on with their own agenda. There were so many lives that happened right next to one another without their paths ever crossing.

It was a quick drive, and Miroku was soon pulling the car to the curb. The group piled out of the car.

Shippou started to hop circles around his adopted mother. "We're going to the Night Parade!" he sang out, gleefully.

Souta tried to look bored with the whole idea but couldn't stop the grin twisting his lips a few seconds later. His sister was right, the parade was pretty with all the lights attached to the floats, and he remembered going to the one the year before.

After some pushing, the group reached the front of the crowd and leaned against the fence that had been erected to hold the crowd back from the street. Several floats came by, and they _ohh_'ed and _ahh_'ed at the appropriate times. Then came Kagome's favorite part: the horses. Eight brown Clydesdales pulled a huge version of the Japanese flag, made entirely out of twinkling light strands. They were the largest horses she had ever seen! Each had a wreath of red and white lights looped around their necks, and the leather strips that connected them all lit up with various bright colors.

"Here it comes, Souta, Shippou," she cried out excitedly. Kagome looked down to find only one pair of eyes looking up at her. Worry gripped her heart, and her breath started to shorten to panicked gasps. "Souta, where's Shippou?"

"I-I don't know," he stuttered, also searching the crowds, Kagome's anxiousness contagious.

"Shit," she hissed in a desperate voice, as she looked around. And then she saw him. In the middle of the street, right in the path of the huge horses, paralyzed in fright. "Shippou!" she shouted and leapt over the waist high fence without any hesitation.

"Kagome!" two adult pairs of voices called out behind her, but she ignored Sango and Miroku, instead racing straight to her adopted son. It was just so dark, and even if the driver of the float could see Shippou, Kagome doubted he'd have been able to stop in time.

Kagome made a mad dash and tackled her son from the side just as the massive horses got to that spot. They rolled out of the way on the asphalt as Kagome hugged Shippou to her chest, and she could feel her arms and shoulders being scraped by the rough road. She didn't care, wrapping her arms tighter around her adopted son.

Shippou was safe.

Kagome landed on her back on the left side of the road with a scared-stiff Shippou sitting on her stomach, his eyes wide with terror and guilt. Lifting her head up, she gasped out a quick, "Shippou never do that again," before her head fell backwards. Desperately, she struggled to regain control over her breathing.

"Miss! Miss, are you all right?" one of the two police officers working the parade asked as they came toward the out-of-breath Kagome.

"Yeah," she panted, attempting a reassuring smile.

They reached down and each took a shoulder to help her stand, Shippou clutched tightly to her chest. He looked up at the three adults and said in a calm voice, "My toy, my spinning top, fell out on the road and was about to be run over."

Kagome burst out laughing incredulously just as Sango and Miroku came running up. They looked at the officers to see if they thought she had gone hysterical. Kagome brushed a tear of mirth away from her eye with a finger and choked out, "Shippou and that damn toy! It'll be the death of me someday. I should know, considering how many times I've fallen down the stairs because of it!"

Miroku chuckled, finally understanding, and Sango grinned at the sight of her new friend still with a good head on her shoulders.

"Are you ok?" the officer asked again, just in case.

Kagome looked at him with surprise. Her look obviously said, _My son almost got pancaked by a group of horses with hooves the size of dinner plates_. Well, maybe not obviously, but the policemen figured it out.

The group walked back to the fence, and Souta came running up. He squeezed Kagome until she was blue in the face. "Kagome! You scared the shit out of me!"

"Souta! Where did you learn to talk like that!" Kagome reprimanded her little brother.

Souta grinned proudly, "From you, sis, from you."

Kagome shook her head slightly, a sheepish smile on her face as she avoided looking at Sango, Miroku, or the officers. "Oh, right. Oops..."

Sango looked at the two policemen and said, "It's all right, Kokichi, Gennosuke, we can handle it from here." They nodded and went off to do some silly police task that made them look like they were actually doing something important when they were really doing nothing at all.

Kagome watched the policemen leave before turning back to Miroku and Sango. "You know those two?"

Miroku nodded with a smile. "Yeah, our friend is the one that puts on this parade; his company hosts and organizes it, and those two officers are always the security for this section of the crowd. We've gotten to know them over the past couple of years."

Sango confirmed this with a grin. "We always get sneak peeks at the show."

Kagome laughed politely. "Lucky, aren't you?"

Sango looked at Kagome's scraped shoulders and arms. "Ouch! How'd you get so hurt? Never mind, that's kind of obvious." Here, the brunette turned to Miroku. "Let's find Inuyasha and see if he has a first aid kit we can use."

They started to lead the way, and Kagome had no choice other than to follow.

* * *

Inuyasha Youkai was watching the parade from his office on the top floor of the nearby building. His dark brown eyes, almost purple, took in the whole scene. "What was that crazy woman thinking? She could have gotten herself killed, and then I'd be stuck with a lawsuit!" He ran a hand through his long black hair with worry, realizing how selfish he'd just sounded. Thankfully, he was alone in the room. "At least she didn't, though," he added sincerely. He didn't want an innocent person to die; he wasn't that big of a cold-hearted jerk.

Inuyasha's eyes sparked with interest when he saw two people running towards the woman who'd nearly gotten run over by the float carrying the giant Japanese flag. They looked like his best friends, Sango and Miroku, but it was difficult to tell from such a height. Mostly, they were the only two people he knew would have the balls to jump a fence and run out in front of _his _parade.

Sighing, he sat down in a large leather chair behind his huge company desk. That day had been a long one. It wasn't like he had to take care of the whole company by himself, but Sesshoumaru and him just didn't get along well enough to make working anything other than a burden. Their father must have been crazy to leave the company to the half- brothers. They'd rip each other's throats out soon if they didn't call a truce. Sesshoumaru had always despised Inuyasha, who somehow managed to not be good enough for the older sibling since birth.

Sesshoumaru Youkai, however, did come in handy. His calm disposition and emotionless mask came were extremely useful during business deals. Sesshoumaru was also a person to be feared, so no one dared double cross him. Inuyasha's volatile temper had a similar effect. Under the brothers' care, the company had flourished. It became one of the largest and most influential businesses in Japan, and that would have made their late father proud.

Still deep in his thoughts, Inuyasha jumped when there was a knock on his door several minutes after he'd sat down. "Come in," he called out in a gruff voice, scowling darkly, letting his sour mood show on his face.

"Hey, Inu!" Sango cheerfully chirped as she stepped into his office.

Inuyasha's face fell to one of confusion and not just because he hated being called 'Inu.' He hadn't seen Sango that happy for a long time, not since the accident. He had been there when his best friend had gotten the call that her parents had died in a fire at the businessman's mansion a year earlier. Sango's brother nearly had, too, and had had to go to the hospital. It had taken months to get over the damage that the smoke ventilation had caused to his lungs. Sango was only this cheerful when she was spending time with Kohaku. Even Inuyasha and Miroku had to struggle to get more than a grin out of her lately.

"Hey," he replied, voice softened in light of her mood.

Sango stepped in and asked quickly, "Do you have a first aid kit I can borrow?" Inuyasha raised his eyebrow in a questioning look, silently urging his friend to explain herself. "A new friend of mine got cut up pretty badly from a fall, and I need to clean the scratches out," she elaborated.

Inuyasha shrugged and got up out of his chair. He was still in his business clothes: a button-down red shirt and slacks. Carrying the kit out behind Sango, he came into the room out in front of his office. It was large and the only other room besides his office on that floor of the building. A desk and some chairs were scattered over the blue carpet. This was normally where the secretary sat, and it also served as the entrance to that level of the building.

Sitting in a chair with a small boy sitting in her lap was one of the prettiest women he had ever seen. Not that he'd ever tell her that, of course. Inuyasha managed to recognize her as the insane woman who had almost gotten flattened earlier by the float in the parade. He scowled and handed the kit over to Sango.

"Hey," Miroku yelled from his seat next to Kagome, waving enthusiastically. Inuyasha hadn't even noticed him— or the other young boy at the foot of girl's seat, for that matter.

"Inuyasha, this is Kagome. Kagome, Inuyasha," Sango introduced quickly, pulling up a chair and opening the first aid kit.

Kagome gave him a heart-melting grin and said, "Nice to meet you. Great parade out there," she nodded in the direction of the street.

"Yeah," he growled. Kagome didn't appear to be frightened _or_ impressed by his tone. Turning back to Miroku, she continued their conversation like they'd never been interrupted.

Inuyasha sat down across from them and an energetic ball of red hair and little boy clothing leapt into his lap. Looking up with wide-green eyes at Inuyasha, the ball said, "I'm Shippou. Who are you?"

"Inuyasha, runt."

Shippou crossed his arms and pouted. "I'm not a runt!"

"_Right_," Kagome sang out, turning her attention away from Miroku and onto her adopted son, a playful smile on her lips.

Shippou turned to stare back at her. "I'm not!"

"Of course not, Shippou, no one's doubting you."

"I'm not!"

"Mm-hm."

"Am not!"

"_Sure_!"

"Mom!" he squealed, finally, in defeat.

"What?" Kagome's asked innocently, to Inuyasha's surprise. He hadn't expected her to answer to the kid yelling for his mother.

Leaping into her lap, Shippou got a sudden idea. "Can we go out and get ice cream?"

"Please, sister?" Souta joined in the begging from his seat on the floor.

Sango stopped cleaning the scratches long enough to listen to the answer. Even Miroku seemed to lean closer in interest.

Sighing, Kagome began to say that they needed to head back to the SHA for the night, but Inuyasha interrupted.

"Of course she's going to take you out for ice cream, and she's treating me to it, too."

"What?" Kagome cried incredulously.

"It's the least you can do for almost ruining my parade and interrupting my night here," Inuyasha smirked, rather smugly in fact.

"I don't owe you anything!" she snapped, leaning forward and poking him in the chest, once for each word she said.

"Yes, you do!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Children, children! Can you save it for later?" Miroku interrupted the arguing adults, struggling to smother his laughter.

"NO!" they shouted simultaneously and turned to glare at one another.

"Why don't we all go out for ice cream and treat ourselves?" Sango suggested.

"Yes!" the two boys and Miroku agreed with glee.

"Fine with me," Kagome consented, shrugging. Ice cream might make the day a little better; she might even be able to continue to forget about why she was running away from home with her boys in the first place.

"Good, then we're agreed!" Sango stated firmly while nodding her head. "I have a light jacket in Miroku's car that you can borrow to cover up your scraped arms, Kagome."

"Thanks," Kagome smiled with gratitude at her new friend. They were already bonding after such a short time. They'd both experienced tragedy having to deal with family, and they seemed to be able to sense that from one another.

Inuyasha stood staring after them as they walked out the door. "Wait!" he called, running after them. "I never agreed to pay for my own! She still owes me!"

**Next Chapter: Surprises**


	3. Surprises

Each time I update, the chapters will get a little longer. Enjoy and please review!

Edited: 7/8/2011

Disclaimer: If I owned _Inuyasha_, Kagome and Inuyasha would have kissed already in the anime, Sesshoumaru would get more respect, and Miroku would be taken seriously once in a while. So, obviously, I don't.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Three: Surprises

* * *

Kagome sat with the youngest of the group, Souta and Shippou, on either side of her. She stared glumly at her bowl of ice cream, which long ago had melted to a mass of white goo. She supported one side of her face with a propped up hand, while with the other, she held a spoon and was stirring the glob of dairy product. Sighing for the umpteenth time, she blocked out the chatting from everyone around her.

"Kagome?" she heard a quiet male voice ask.

Looking up quickly, she found herself starring into Inuyasha's dark eyes. "Yeah?"

Inuyasha paused when he saw the bandage over her eye. He was going to start yelling at her for messing with his parade again, just to see how long it took to set her off, but he stumbled to a stop. "Where'd you get that cut?" he suddenly asked out of nowhere, unable to help himself. He had long ago learned he was a brash and reckless person, one who rarely thought things through before shooting his mouth off.

Kagome blushed and looked back down at the bowl in front of her. Sango, Miroku, Souta, and Shippou all stopped their conversation about some anime show to hear her reply.

Sango paled, finally, feeling the tension begin to permeate the air. "Um, don't worry about it, Inuyasha," she told him in a small voice, trying to smooth things over.

Inuyasha looked at all their worried faces but decided to press it anyway. Looking back at Kagome, he urged her to continue. "Well?"

Blue eyes snapped up to stare into his brown ones. They were full of hatred, sorrow, and anger. No happiness at all. "Would you mind your own business?" she snapped, startling everyone. It was the first time Sango had seen any fury in her since the girl had arrived several hours earlier at the shelter.

Souta flinched. He hated to see his sister like this, when she was no longer cheerful. He knew her heart called out for revenge, and that was so un-Kagome like. It must be tearing his sister in two. Shippou crawled into her lap and hugged his tiny body to hers. Taking his nephew's action as a cue, Souta leaned his head against her shoulder, trying to give her some comfort as well.

Inuyasha watched with incredulous eyes, not understanding what he had done wrong. He'd been trying to rile Kagome up since he met her, but not like this.

"We met Kagome at the shelter," Sango explained quietly.

Inuyasha paled. He hated the shelter. He could fire a whole staff of workers without blinking, but he couldn't stand to see a woman cry, and there were many of those at the SHA. He immediately felt sorry for Kagome. He had never even considered the new woman was from there. She was too happy earlier, had too much bite left in her; something he couldn't remember seeing in any other woman from there. Inuyasha had just opened his mouth to start some sort of an apology, at least one he was capable of, when she interrupted him.

"Don't bother," she spat out with disgust. "We don't need your pity." Kagome glared heatedly at the young man.

Miroku winced. Although tears didn't faze him like they did Inuyasha, he couldn't stand to see a woman upset. Especially a friend, no matter how new of one she was. "Kagome, he didn't mean it. Inuyasha has the habit of running his mouth before thinking," Miroku tried to explain in his best friend's defense.

Kagome's eyes clouded over for a moment before she gave her head a little shake, pulling herself out of her sudden mood swing. "I'm sorry about that," she said quietly to everyone suddenly, her voice noticeably softer. "I didn't mean to sound so... _angry_ at you, Inuyasha. I didn't mean for it to come out that way," she apologized while looking at him earnestly, feeling honestly guilty about it. The stress and fatigue from her long day must have left her more on edge than she'd realized. She was definitely more defensive than she normally would have been.

"Feh," Inuyasha grumbled before going back to his ice cream, the cheery mood forgotten.

* * *

Inuyasha used his drive home along the deserted streets to recall the evening, his temperament darkening. His car happened to be a top of the line, exceptionally expensive convertible that allowed his long hair to flow out behind him in the wind.

Their playful argument over who would pay for the ice cream back in his office had left him feeling pretty damn happy. She had a temper that had spiked to match his, which was something that was missing in a lot of people. Inuyasha had been looking forward to a new person he could argue with. Miroku was too calm to put up a good fight, Sango normally took the fight to physical blows after a while (which eventually really hurt,) and Sesshoumaru used way too few words and the ones he did say were too big.

_What is it with women and that shelter?_ He asked himself. Inuyasha had to harshly remind himself that they were victims who had been abused mentally and physically, which did a lot to affect the way they acted. Resolutely, he decided to stay away from Kagome… at least until he had some fresh insults that would be considered safe to use on her, ones meant to spark another argument for fun without actually hurting her. He smirked at his conclusion and sped up a little. There was no way he could let her get away with her scene at the ice cream parlor, and he definitely needed to get payback for what happened at his parade.

* * *

"Bye!" Miroku called out cheerfully at the girls as he dropped them off at the SHA. Shippou was asleep in Kagome's arms, and Souta was so close to it that he had to lean on his older sister for support.

Yawning, the little brother requested in a muffled voice, "Let's go to sleep, Kagome."

Nodding, Sango opened the doors to the dark building and locked it behind her. Some men, or women, were crazy enough to try to come after the occupants at the SHA at night. Anyone leaving or entering after dark had to get it unlocked by whoever was at the desk.

Sango waved at the man at the desk. Normally the women and children preferred female employees, who were considered more sympathetic to their plights and far less threatening. Everyone liked Jinenji, however, the man currently keeping watch at the front entrance. He was extremely kind, and the people here knew they could trust him. Even better, he trusted Sango and didn't pry into what she had been doing out with one of the occupants.

Sango walked Kagome and her family back to their room. The rooms at the SHA were extremely well kept, almost like hotel rooms. The single beds were covered in soft, warm, clean sheets. The carpet was thick and there was a small table and a plush armchair in the corner, set up by a very small bureau. On the nice wooden side table sat an alarm clock and a large lamp. Kagome's room was decorated entirely in blues, radiating comfort and peace.

Sango helped tuck the two boys into bed and gave Kagome a quick hug goodbye, which she returned. With a small smile and wave, the brunette left to go get into her car out front in the shelter's parking lot. Kagome gave a small sigh before taking off her shoes and over-shirt and crawled in-between the two boys, mind bent on a good night's rest.

* * *

Sango showed up bright and early the next day to visit her new friends. Coming in, she waved at Nazuna, a young brunette who was now on duty. Knocking on the door to Kagome's room, Sango entered when she heard a muffled invitation of, "Come in!"

The boys were still asleep, their limbs at odd angles and the sheets twisted around them. Kagome had been staring out the window. Sango waited while Kagome woke the boys up, and then handed them each a bag without an explanation.

Kohaku, the brunette's little brother, had plenty of clothes, that would fit Souta perfectly. Out of Souta's bag came several pairs of new boxers, three pairs of blue jeans, some socks, and many t-shirts. It was easily enough to last him an entire week without needing to visit the launder mat. Practically bouncing out of his seat with gratitude and excitement, Souta launched at Sango to give her a hug. Shippou was harder being so small for his size. He got the same things as Souta only much, much smaller.

"Sango! This is too much! I'll have to repay you as soon as I can," Kagome said, giving Sango a quick hug as well.

"No, it's fine," Sango told her dismissively, waving way the offer with a light laugh. "I can afford it, and it's no bother at all!"

"Thanks, Sango. I really mean it."

"Now it's your turn." The brunette motioned towards the bag still in Kagome's lap. Inside were a few female necessities, as well as jeans, skirts, cargo pants, a jacket, and various tops from tank tops to blouses.

The two boys looked in awe at all Kagome had gotten. "Why'd she get so many things?" Shippou demanded with a pout.

"Because she's female and needs as many clothes as possible. They never can make up their minds and need a ton of choices," Souta explained wisely.

Sango and Kagome looked at each other before bursting into laughter. Of course, they didn't deny any of it.

The boys shooed the girls out of the room to change, and the females in turn rolled their eyes. It only took a couple of minutes before they came bounding out, Souta in red and Shippou in green.

"I'll be right out! Would you mind watching them?" Kagome pleaded, her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes comically wide.

"No problem." Sango waved the girl off flippantly before chasing after Kagome's adopted son and brother, starting a game of tag in a matter of seconds.

Kagome was out quickly, looking much more put together with her hair held away from her face in a loose bun and dressed in a fitted red shirt and black skirt. It took her awhile to track down the rest of the group, but she eventually found them racing around the dining area. Once everyone was settled, Kagome started to chat with Sango about various things that the boys immediately got lost listening to.

"We're going to, um, explore," Souta muttered, grabbing Shippou's hand and yanking the smaller boy away to find an excuse for getting away.

Kagome watched them leave and then turned to the brown-eyed girl, her face now serious. "How long can we stay here?"

Sango quickly replied, "As long as you need to, unless you find another family member or friend you will be safe staying with."

Kagome sighed, her blue-gray eyes downcast. "We don't have anywhere else to go. All of _his_ friends are the only people we know around here. _He_ would be watching my mother's and grandfather's house and probably has a way of listening in on their phone conversations. We shouldn't call them. We can't call any friends from back home either, they'll be watched," Kagome mused out loud.

Sango took on a worried look, her mouth quirked in a troubled frown. "He'll go that far to find you? He knows people who will actually spy on you?"

"He isn't exactly a good man. He has many contacts and enough money to get what he wants," Kagome admitted vaguely.

Sango didn't press who 'he' was; she knew better than that. If Kagome wanted her to know, then the other woman would tell her when she was ready. "You said your mom and grandfather are alive?"

"Yeah," Kagome said, grasping for the change of subject.

"Why do you have Souta, then?" Sango asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

Kagome smiled at the mention of her little brother's name. "Souta may be a pest, but we're really close. When I started to date _him_ four years ago, Souta asked to move in with us when I moved out of my family home."

"Your mother let you move out when you were seventeen?" Sango asked, amazed.

Kagome smiled. "Mom was happy I was happy. _He_ seemed so sweet in the beginning. Plus I was almost eighteen and was finishing high school that year. _He_ let me finish it out, thankfully, so I have a high school degree."

Sango smiled quickly. "Well there's a positive, right?"

Kagome returned to the topic before that. "I have nowhere to go, and I can't stay here forever. The boys already probably need psychiatric care by now," Kagome joked dryly.

Sango nodded for her to continue, not wanting to interrupt again. She knew the blue-eyed girl felt the need to figure this out and talking about it out loud must be helping her figure things out.

"I'll admit that I do have money," Kagome told the brunette sheepishly. Sango nodded again, unsurprised after the nice clothes and the Lexus comment the day before. "I had a good job at an advertising company before coming here. I was so happy to get it, especially since I only had a high school degree when they gave me the job when I was just eighteen. It started out small, but I got my Bachelors and eventually a Masters from night school while working there over the past few years. When I tuned twenty, I was given a huge account, and when I didn't screw it up, they let me keep the high-ranking job. I was paid good money. They'll be wondering why I haven't shown up for the last two days, counting today. I have quite a bit of money in the bank and plenty of credit cards, but I have no doubt he'll be waiting for me to use them. That is, if he hasn't already cleaned my accounts out."

Sango nodded in understanding. It sounded like Kagome had had a pretty good life besides her abusive boyfriend. Or was it her husband?

"Hmm, I have an idea for what I can do to help you," Sango said carefully.

Kagome perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah, but I'll need some time to get it done. I need to make a call to someone first. It might be a little messy," Sango continued.

Kagome's face fell. "I don't want you to go through any trouble," she mumbled. As much as she appreciated all the help she had already gotten from Sango, Kagome couldn't help but wonder why the brunette was going so far out of her way to help her out. Far as she knew, no one else at the shelter received the same attention.

As if sensing her new friend's suspicion, Sango smiled gently and tucked her hair behind her ear. She struggled to find the right way to phrase what she was feeling. "Kagome, I may only have known you for a short time, less than 24 hours I know, but I feel like I've known you for forever. My father used to tell me that I had the best judgment in people he had ever seen and that I should always trust my instincts; I think it's why I do so well here. Honestly, I almost feel like you're my little sister," Sango admitted with a nervous laugh. She knew it sounded strange, but she meant every word she'd said. In such a short time, Kagome had grown like the little sister that Sango had never had. Kagome was the first female she had ever really tried to get to know, and they had fallen into such an easy friendship so quickly.

Kagome rolled the words over in her mind, feeling a little apprehensive and shocked. The younger woman always saw the best in everyone, and in such a dire situation, she knew she had to find someone she could trust, and her gut told her that Sango was someone she could rely on—a genuinely good person. She realized after examining her own thoughts, trying to ignore how anxious Sango looked while waiting for her response, that she felt the same way Sango was trying to describe. They were already close. They also had a lot in common, although most of it was still undiscovered. Kagome finally nodded. "By the way, just in case you needed to know, I lived in Kyoto with him. That's where all my old family and friends live too."

"Wait," Sango responded slowly, looking confused. "I don't understand. Last night you said that you moved here with him last year and had only seen the Night Parade once because of that."

Embarrassed, Kagome looked away. "We moved here for a month last year so _he _could get a business deal. It was the month during which the parade came through," she elaborated. "I wasn't sure how much I should tell you last night, which is why I didn't explain it that clearly. I came to look for a shelter here in Tokyo, because it was so big, and I hoped he wouldn't be able to find me."

"I get it," Sango assured her, reaching out to pat her new friend on the hand. "That helps, knowing that he doesn't live here and isn't from here. It'll be easier to pull my plan through then." Kagome was absolutely bursting with curiosity at the plan but kept her mouth shut, knowing she should just be happy that Sango was going to help her, period. "I'll need Miroku's and Inuyasha's help with this," Sango grumbled under her breath. Kagome heard any way.

"What?" Kagome burst out. "You need the help of that… that… that _jerk_!"

A moment passed in which they stared one another down, Sango finally chuckling nervously. "Yeah, I kind of really do need his help. Crucial part, actually."

Kagome sighed, coaching her breathing and tamping down the anger she felt rising in herself, one that she couldn't fully understand. A small part of her wondered if she was directing her irritation at Inuyasha, because she couldn't direct it at the real source. "Whatever. I'm ready for it."

Having Kagome's cooperation was a key part in this, she realized, so she smiled brightly. "Kagome?" Sango asked suddenly. Kagome nodded to show that she was listening. "What's your last name?"

Kagome looked surprised and then burst out laughing, interrupting her own answer with loud chuckles. "I never told you, did I?" Whipping tears of mirth from her eyes she said, "It's Higurashi. Kagome Higurashi."

Sango nodded. "Thanks."

Kagome sighed, her fit of the giggles having passed and leaving her exhausted. Stress, she worried, was making her act ridiculous.

"Hey, Kagome?" Sango inquired, sounding more nervous she had during any other part of their conversation so far.

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to move in with me?" Then, afraid Kagome would turn her down, Sango pushed ahead in a rambling sort of way. "With just me and Kohaku, it's really lonely. Plus, the grounds are beautiful! There are tennis and basketball courts, two huge pools— indoor and outdoor, I mean—a butterfly garden, a flower garden, and a forest at the edge of the property. The house is huge! There are plenty of—"

"We'd love to," Kagome interrupted with a giggle. Her soft smile didn't reveal the happiness she was truly feeling, one that was rising from her stomach in an overwhelming wave, warming her very soul. It felt good to have friends again, not to mention a place to call home.

Souta and Shippou had come in at the last part of their conversation, hovering behind Kagome with twin looks of surprise and excitement on their faces.

"Really, mom?" the youngest asked.

"Really," Kagome assured Shippou.

"Yes!" Souta shouted, jumping where he stood and then wrapping his arms around Kagome in a fierce hug.

Amused, Sango laughed, realizing how nice it would feel to have a family running around her big empty house and property. She then excused herself to call Inuyasha and ask her old friend a favor. Miroku wasn't home, so she couldn't ask him to do his part yet. Once they all made it to Sango's house, she could get Miroku to go and grab what she needed.

* * *

Miroku pulled up at the shelter just as Sango and Kagome appeared in the entrance of the SHA, carrying the last of the small amount of possessions the Higurashis had with them.

"What's going on?" Miroku asked worriedly. He had seen the cut on Kagome's forehead and knew that this guy that hurt her was not a person to mess with. He really hoped Kagome wasn't going back to him like many of the other girls at the shelter had done in the past. Many of the women couldn't handle it and ended up going back to their abusive partners in the end. Miroku didn't want that to be the case this time.

Sango turned and beamed at his question. He took a step back. Sango didn't beam a smile unless she was about to beam someone with a piece of wood. "Kagome is moving in with me!"

Once the announcement sunk in, Miroku grinned supportively. He knew it would be good for Kagome and her family to have a good place to live for awhile, and Sango needed a few more people in that castle she called a home.

"Good for you," he congratulated all of them.

The women packed the last of the things into Sango's car and climbed in after them, motioning the boys to follow. They crawled into the back seat next to the bags of clothes.

"Miroku, you should come, too. I have something to ask you when we get there," Sango explained.

"Ah, yeah, sure," he agreed. He had come to the shelter to meet with them anyway, so it seemed unnecessary to stay behind if they were leaving. Miroku climbed into the driver's seat of his Lexus and waved to show Sango to start to drive and lead the way.

In the passenger seat of Sango's car, Kagome closed her eyes and started to mentally prepare herself for the first sight of their new home.

**Next Chapter: An Old Ally**


	4. An Old Ally

Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Edited: 7/8/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Four: An Old Ally

* * *

As the car pulled onto a long winding road, Kagome leaned her forehead against the window to get a closer look at the passing scenery. Set apart between vast expanses of land were enormous mansions. They could practically be described as castles, which proved just how large they were. Sango turned her car onto a driveway near the end of the lane, which ended abruptly at a large, sparkling blue lake instead of joining another road. Kagome gasped as they drove up the slight incline of concrete. The grass was still a perfect emerald green and very lush, despite the descending autumn chill. Sakura trees lined the road like beautiful guards. The driveway curved back into itself to make a circle at the foot of the house with an island of land in the center, an ancient tree set in the middle of it.

The mansion itself was too impressive to fully describe. It had four floors, not counting the basement or the attic. It was made of a stone that was a creamy white and decorated with red accents. Every window on the top three floors had a beautiful, small balcony leading off of it. Four large pillars stood out front, two on each side of the door, and they stretched to the third floor, creating a shaded entryway. Between the base of the pillars and the door was a veranda where guests could sit out and chat while sitting on beautiful white wicker furniture. Sango's home was, to put it simply, _huge_. The roof tapered off into a pointed triangle, very Western inspired.

It was surrounded on every side but the front by a grove of tall trees. Out front were rose bushes, which would have white and red blossoms when the flowers were in bloom. Beyond that were rolling hills that stretched out several acres to the foot of a massive forest that covered the land behind all of the houses in this part of the country.

If Kagome squinted she could see the tennis courts in the distance.

They were far outside Tokyo; Kagome hadn't realized that until now. The shelter had been near the edge of the city, so they hadn't had to travel too far to get there. Despite the relatively short, half-hour drive, it was as though they were in a different world.

"Wow," she breathed. The boys nodded their heads in shocked agreement.

Miroku and Sango smiled at each other, standing back and away from the little family. Kagome obviously liked it, and that made them happy.

"Sango," came a cry from the front door of the mansion. Kohaku was home-schooled by the nanny-like person who worked at Sango's home, so he was there, even this early in the day. Sango had called ahead so that Kohaku would have the day off to meet their new housemates.

"Hey, Kohaku," Sango called out cheerfully. They were close, as close as Souta and Kagome if not more so.

Souta and Shippou grinned at the sight of another boy and the three went off to go explore after a quick introduction, bonded in the way that only a group of mischievous little boys could be.

"I'll explain my plan once we're settled," Sango told Kagome.

Kagome nodded and started off towards the house. When Miroku started after her, Sango caught his elbow and pulled him back. She then whispered what she wanted him to do into his ear so that the last parts of her plan could fall into place. Once she was sure Miroku understood, Sango picked up what was left of the luggage and followed Kagome; Miroku stayed behind and pulled out his cell phone to call a friend from work. After a quick conversation, and a lot of explanations, the violet-eyed man remained where he was for awhile until a car pulled up the driveway. Getting an envelope from the driver and muttering his thanks, Miroku started up to the house, just in time to see Kagome and Sango coming back outside with some snacks and refreshments.

He met them at the veranda, and the three settled down into chairs facing one another on the veranda, enjoying the shade and fresh air it offered. Each grabbed a glass of mint tea.

"Kagome, you can't hide forever," Sango began, leaning onto her elbows.

Kagome nodded eagerly. "I'm not one to run away with my tail between my legs," she admitted. "I may have come here to bring the boys out of danger, but I want to fix this problem as soon as I can. I want a normal life again, but if I have to take a few precautions first, so be it."

Miroku was the one who nodded this time; he had guessed that about Kagome already. She faced her problems head on instead of preferring to run from them. Thankfully, she also didn't seem dense enough to tackle a problem without having the proper backup first.

"First off, you, Souta, and Shippou are welcome to stay here for as long as you want," Sango stated seriously. She enjoyed another girl's company, and it felt good to have people in her home once again. Plus, Kohaku needed someone his own age to interact with.

"Thank you, we really appreciate this," Kagome told her warmly, gratitude evident in her voice.

Sango smiled. "I'm happy about that."

"You need a job, something to do during the day. Something to get money from," Miroku added.

"Yeah, I know that. But to apply for a job, you have to fill out an application; to do that, I'd have to use my name, and _he_ might find out." Kagome sounded more curious than defeated when she explained this, as though she had already been wondering about the exact same thing.

"We know that. That's why I called and got you this." Miroku handed Kagome a manila folder, the same one he had received from the person who had dropped by not that long before.

"What's this?" Kagome asked, surprised. She took the folder from him delicately, wondering why he was acting so secretive and almost like a secret agent. Opening it up, she pulled out a paper-clipped stack of papers. They were birth certificates for 'Souta Shashu,' 'Shippou Shashu,' and 'Kagome Shashu.' There was also a high school degree and some college degrees, only with the name 'Kagome Shashu' emblazoned across the top. In addition to all this, there was also a driver's license and several credit cards in that same pseudonym. "What in the world...?" Kagome inquired with wide eyes, thumbing through the documents once more.

"I work for the Japanese government and pulled a few favors in the Witness Protection Program. A couple of people owed me," Miroku explained.

"Shashu?" Kagome quirked an eyebrow in his direction, gesturing at her new last name.

"I thought it fit you," Miroku pointed out with a laugh, meaning that the work mean 'archer.'

"Me, too," Sango agreed with a grin tugging at her lips.

"Now you can have a new identity and can get a job, things like that," the government agent continued.

"Like live a life," Sango tacked on the end.

With trembling hands, Kagome looked back down at the folder and its content, feeling the weight of what they had just given her settled on her shoulders. Slightly shocked, Kagome gaped at Miroku and Sango in a dumbstruck sort of way, her mouth hanging open and her eyes as wide as they could go. "Wow," she gasped, unable to find the right word to express what she was feeling.

"Yeah, I know," Sango said. Turning to Miroku she patted him on the head like he was a pet worth praising. "He actually comes in handy sometimes."

Miroku swatted her hand away playfully and pouted.

Kagome laughed at their antics. "One problem," she could help but add, her tone dropping back into seriousness again. "How am I going to find a job? It takes some people months." She sighed, turning her eyes away and looking off into the distance at the beautiful landscape as she pondered this dilemma. "I've only had one job before, and the guy I'm running from was the one who got me hired at my old job. I don't have that much experience with job hunting and it will be difficult to find a job without any references."

Sango adopted a nervous look, flicking her eyes to Miroku and then back to Kagome's profile. "Well, we kind of have a solution for that..." she trailed off while twiddling her thumbs.

Kagome turned back to the brunette with narrowed eyes. "I knew this came with a catch."

Miroku chuckled nervously, trying hard to exude confidence and reassurance. "It's not all that bad!"

"Well, what is my new job going to be?" Kagome pushed, exasperated when the two refused to continue any further.

"My secretary," came a growl from behind them. Kagome turned to see Inuyasha Youkai leaning against a pillar in all his glory, having succeeded in sneaking up on the group without anyone noticing.

Kagome swallowed hard and mentally groaned, lamenting the fact that she was apparently stuck with the biggest jerk of all time. She sighed. "When do I start?" she asked in a small voice staring at her flip-flops.

"I wasn't aware I was _that_ bad." Inuyasha rolled his eyes while smirking. "Tomorrow," he added seriously, when he didn't rouse a laugh from anyone or any apologies from Kagome. Not even Miroku, his best friend, tried to defend him.

Kagome's eye began to twitch, but she held back the urge to wipe that smirk off his face. Sternly, she reminded herself that she should harm her future boss so quickly. To keep from shooting her mouth off and saying anything rude, she only nodded in response to him. Inuyasha pulled up a fourth chair and sat between his two best friends, directly opposite Kagome.

"Thanks, Inuyasha, we really appreciate it," Sango told him sincerely.

"Yeah, big help," Kagome muttered.

Miroku resisted the ever-increasing urge to snort in laughter. He'd grow to love to watch these two bicker, he just knew it, already finding an entertainment value in it.

Kagome stopped glaring at her new boss long enough to quickly look around. The light had definitely gotten a lot darker in the last hour since they'd arrived. Odd, since it was only around noon. She got up and walked to the foot of the veranda and peered upward into the gray sky. Just as her face was fully upward a fat raindrop landed in the center of her forehead, and in mere seconds, rain was pouring down in sheets. Thunder shook the air, and lightning forked overhead. "Shit," Kagome cursed. She'd been doing that a lot lately, she realized. Stepping out onto the driveway, she looked around for the rest of her tiny family.

Unsure of what she was doing, Inuyasha wondered at her sanity as he watched her get soaked to the bone.

"Souta! Shippou!" Kagome called out into the gloom.

"Over here, mom!" came a shrill cry from her left. She turned to see Shippou, Souta, and Kohaku racing to the house, laughing and pushing at each other, each trying to beat the other two. Once they got to Kagome, she swept her brother and adopted son into a huge hug, smiling widely at Kohaku.

"Let's get inside," she suggested, leading them to the front door where the others were waiting. Once there, the four excused themselves to get some dry clothes.

Reaching her new room, Kagome drug around in the duffle bag full of borrowed clothes from Sango and pulled out a long, jean skirt and a white blouse, wanting to be comfortable as well as dry. As she slipped into them, she sent out a silent thank you to the universe for sending such a good group of her people her way when she really needed them.

* * *

Just as the three young boys and woman left the entryway to go get changed, the doorbell rang.

"Wonder who that is," Sango muttered as she answered the door.

Outside was an extremely attractive young man, looking around the same age as Inuyasha, who was twenty-four. He had long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and piercing, ice blue eyes; he was also dressed rather well and spent a moment shaking the rain off his umbrella. When Sango answered the door, he gave her a charming grin. Miraculously the man was barely wet.

"Please, come in," the home owner offered, stepping back from the doorway, so the man could enter. Leading him into the living room, Sango started to introduce everyone. "That's Miroku and Inuyasha, and I'm Sango. How can we help you?" she asked politely. She didn't recognize the man.

"Oh, I hope you can. My name is—" the stranger began charmingly, but was cut off when there were footsteps racing down the staircase.

"Kouga!" Someone squealed from the doorway. Everyone in the living room turned to watch an excited Kagome run in and engulf the man in a backbreaking hug, her thin arms wrapped tightly around the man's chest and holding on for dear life. Miroku stood from his chair, feeling protective. The only thing he could come up with was that this was the man who had hurt Kagome. Who else could it be?

Kagome let go of Kouga and stepped back to get a better look at him.

Kouga flashed her a wolfish grin before turning back to Sango. "You _were_ a big help! I found just what I came looking for."

"Kouga, how did you know where to find me?" Kagome inquired, surprise and confusion battling it out in her tone of voice.

Kouga looked back at her and frowned. "That asshole came looking for you. He said everything was all right, that you just left for a small vacation, and he needed to contact you because of an emergency. He said that he lost the travel information you left behind and was hoping you'd told me where you were going. He bothered every one of your old friends. I knew something was wrong, so I called around looking for you."

"Naraku," Kagome hissed under her breath, her mood instantly darkening. The other three adults, all except Kouga, leaned forward to catch the name of Kagome's enemy. At least now they could put a name to the evil actions that had brought their new friend to them. A look of anger passed over everyone's faces.

Still frowning, Kouga continued with his explanation. "I called an old friend here, Jinenji, and he said he'd seen you at a shelter. The Sakura Hide-Away, he'd said. That worried me, so I pressed him and found out that a Miss Sango Taijai knew you, so I came to find you." Kagome's look changed to one of a smile as he pulled her into another hug. "We're all so worried about you, Kagome. Your mom especially," Kouga added, his voice sincere.

Kagome pulled back quickly, her eyes darting around the room as she thought quickly about her situation. "You can't tell anyone where I am," she stated seriously, finally, coming to a conclusion.

Kouga nodded. "I figured that much out."

Kagome turned back to her confused friends; "Kouga is an old friend of mine from Kyoto. We've know each other since we were young."

Having his explanation and knowing Kouga was safe for Kagome to be around, Miroku nodded and sat back down in his chair, relaxing.

"Now that I've found you, I better be getting back," Kouga said. There was a longing in his voice to stay with his friend, but he ignored it. "Back in Kyoto, I'll cover your tracks," he pledged.

"Thank you, Kouga, you have no idea how happy I am to see you again. It's been three years," she realized with a start.

Kouga laughed, a full, deep chuckle. "Yeah! I haven't seen you since graduation," he grinned.

Kagome joined in the laughter, her smile brightening her entire face and reaching her eyes. "You grew! Now you're even taller! I feel so short," she joked.

"You always felt short," Kouga chuckled wryly. He smiled and nodded apologetically to his old friend, and crush, and turned to leave. "Better go," he called out over his shoulder. He had a lot of work to do back home.

"Give Mama a kiss for me," Kagome pleaded from where she stood. She refused to follow him to the door. She hated good-byes.

"I will," he promised before closing the door behind him. Kagome sighed, she wished he could have stayed longer; they really needed to catch up. A smaller, much more logical part of her realized that back in Kyoto, he could do her an unimaginable favor by helping hide her from Naraku. Kouga had always been great at tracking down things—or in this case, people—who were lost; Naraku may be just as good.

"So!" Sango announced from behind Kagome, clapping her hands together.

Kagome jumped. She had forgotten there were people there. She flashed a quick smile around at everyone. A spark had brightened up her eyes, which did not go unnoticed by the rest of the group.

"Who was that?" Kohaku asked his sister as he and the other boys clambered down the stairs, now dressed in dry clothes.

"An old friend of mine, Kouga Ookami," Kagome answered for Sango.

Souta's eyes took on a sparkle. "Kouga? He was here?"

Kagome smiled. "Yes, Kouga."

Souta sulked. "Why didn't you call me? I haven't seen Kouga in forever! Is he any different? Did he say anything about me? Is he still going to teach me soccer moves?"

"Sorry, kid. He was only here for a few minutes. You can talk to him later. You can ask him about soccer then," Kagome apologized, reaching out to pat her little brother on the shoulder. Surprisingly, he jerked out of reach.

"You just wanted to keep him to yourself!" Souta accused hotly.

Kagome blushed a pretty pink color. "That's not true!"

"_Right_," Souta sang out, rolling his eyes, seizing the chance to tease Kagome. Like sister, like brother.

"You know very well, young man, that Kouga and I are just friends!" Kagome scolded.

Miroku chuckled from the chair he was sitting in. He liked Kagome's arguments. They were an extremely good way to pass time.

Too bad that chuckle drew her blue-eyed gaze to him. "And what, pray tell, are you laughing at, Mr. Houshi?"

Sango snorted. It was funny to hear someone address Miroku in a formal sense.

"Nothing, Miss Shashu," Miroku replied, a grin on his face.

Kagome looked confused for a moment before realization dawned on her. "I'll have to get used to that," she muttered.

Inuyasha watched this all with interest. It was weird watching from the sidelines and not being a part of a disagreement. He liked the feeling, though not enough to give up arguing for good. As if that would be happening anytime soon!

The rest of the evening went without incident. The men left at nightfall, and Sango pulled the new occupants of her house upstairs.

On the fourth floor were the 'Shashu' family's rooms. The entire floor was made up of only three rooms, all on the same hallway, plus one gargantuan library and a bathroom. The bedrooms were all roughly the size of an average house's living room and family room put together, which seemed ridiculous to the sensible Kagome. Based on the rooms' decorum was how the three decided who would get which. Shippou's was done in all red, Souta's in blue, and Kagome's in green. Kagome was thrilled to see a queen sized canopy bed fit for a princess. After tucking the boys in, Kagome changed into a nightdress, one from Sango that still had its price tag attached to the collar.

Slipping into bed, she instantly fell asleep.

* * *

Kagome woke up just after dawn and took a long shower in the bathroom on their floor. It, also, happened to be (almost obscenely) large. She was beginning to understand why Sango and Kohaku felt so alone living on the grounds by themselves. Kagome changed into a tan blouse and a pair of black dress pants and pulled her still wet hair into a loose bun at the bottom of her neck, keeping in mind the fact that she was supposed to start her first day of work as Inuyasha's secretary. She then slipped on a pair of small leather heals that looked stylish but Kagome was sure she'd still be able to walk in by the end of the day. She wanted to look nice for her first official day at the office; she'd learned the previous evening that Inuyasha's work was called the Inutaisho Company. The stubborn young woman hated to admit it, but he was doing her a big favor by letting her work there.

After descending the stairs, she went into the very yellow kitchen; the bright color of the walls was more startling than cheerful that early in the morning. Nervous about her first day of work, Kagome declined Sango's offer of toast. Sango was already ready for her shift at the shelter.

"What about the boys?" Kagome asked, suddenly worried.

Sango chuckled. "Our butler and nanny, of some sorts, will take care of them."

"Oh?"

"Kaede and Myouga are pretty good with children. They're a bit on the older, and odder, side, but they take great care of Kohaku. Kaede even treats him like her own grandson. Myouga just puts up with him, which is a hard job of its own," Sango explained.

Kagome nodded and smiled. Her fresh white bandage was still very noticeable even under her heavy black bangs, Sango realized. She didn't say anything about it.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome asked, "How will I be able to get to work? Should I take the bus? Does the city bus even come all the way out here?"

In response, Sango threw her a set of keys.

Kagome turned them over in her hands, studying them. Again, an overwhelming feeling of gratitude bubbled up her throat, reminding her that these virtual strangers were doing all this for her based on a hunch that she was worth it. She fought the feeling off, not wanting to cry and ruin her makeup, and instead called a quick goodbye before walking out the back door to the garage hidden behind a group of oak trees. Clicking a button attached to the set of keys, a light flashed notifying Kagome the position of the car she would be using. Kagome's eyes slid over the sleek, black, Italian sports car.

Sliding in the driver's seat, Kagome inserted the key and turned it. The engine purred beneath her hands, and she couldn't help but grin to herself. She pulled out of the garage and onto the driveway, pointing the nose of the car in the direction of the city. She relied on her memory of the ride to the parade to find Inuyasha's building.

Sighing, Kagome Shashu prepared herself for the first day of her new life.

**Next Chapter: The Youkai Brothers**


	5. The Youkai Brothers

Inuyasha is a bit confused on how to act around Kagome, and Sesshoumaru isn't a bad guy in this. Those are my excuses for any OCC'ness. I'm trying. Enjoy and review, please!

Once again, remember that there are no demons in this story. Therefore, Inuyasha appears in his human form (dark eyes and black hair). Originally I have Human!Sesshoumaru that same coloring, but it seemed ridiculous for him, so instead he kept his white hair and gold eyes. Even though hair as long as theirs seems a little silly in the modern era, they both have their normal length of hair since I didn't want to be _that author_ who gave them short hair.

Edited: 7/8/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own the wonderful anime and manga known as _Inuyasha_, but I really do support the creator.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Five: The Youkai Brothers

* * *

_I will not kill Inuyasha, I will not kill Inuyasha, I will not kill Inuyasha,_ Kagome chanted to herself like some kind of mantra as she rode the elevator to the top floor to meet with her new boss. Hopefully they had just had a bad first—and second— impression of each other, and Inuyasha was actually a really good, sympathetic, charming person. Everyone has a bad day, right?

"At least you're not late!" he ground out from his spot behind his desk, his heavy black eyebrows lowered over his angry, flashing eyes. The entire back wall of his office was a window, and Inuyasha sat with his back to the orange sky. The rising sun only served to highlight his extreme glower.

"I better not be late! They sky's still not even _blue_ yet," Kagome grumbled to herself.

Inuyasha raised one eyebrow at her downcast face. "Is the carpet really that much more interesting than your new boss, Miss Shashu?" he asked smugly.

Kagome bit back a smirk. He had no idea...

"You will be a personal assistant and secretary of sorts to both myself and Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha explained after going back to reading a paper that had been left on his cluttered desk.

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome questioned, finally raising her eyes in surprise.

Inuyasha glanced up with an even more sour expression on his face. "My brother. _Half-_brother, actually. We are equal partners in the Inutaisho Company. His office is on the next floor down; why don't you go introduce yourself?"

Kagome simply nodded. The second Youkai brother had to be more pleasant, right? There was no way bad attitudes ran in the family.

"Goodbye, Mr. Youkai," She called softly over her shoulder as she left Inuyasha's office, aiming for a polite and professional tone that hid her frustrated feelings with her new boss.

"Call me Inuyasha when it's just us," Inuyasha muttered. Being called Mr. Youkai seemed to rub him the wrong way for some reason, possibly because it made him feel old. At only twenty-four years old, he felt like he had been forced to grow up far too fast after his old man died and left the company to him and Sesshoumaru.

"Okay," Kagome yelled back as she pressed the button for the next floor down at the elevator. The floor had a very simple layout with Inuyasha's office at one end, the receptionist and welcoming area in the middle, and finally the bank of elevators at the other end. With all the doors open, Kagome could still hear and see Inuyasha from where she was standing. The elevator arrived with an overly cheerful _ding!_ sound, and Kagome climbed aboard. Arriving at her destination, Kagome stepped out into the welcoming room of this level, the one directly below Inuyasha's. There were a few leather couches and glass tables like the floor above. Also, just like the other space, no one occupied the large desk in the center. _I guess I get two desks_, she thought cheerfully.

Striding to the closed doors of the large office, she tapped lightly.

"Come in," called a cool voice, easily heard through the thick wood.

Sliding the door open, Kagome squeezed through. Staying just in front of the door, she waited to be recognized by the powerful man in front of her. He was a lot taller than Inuyasha, she noticed. He had hair so blond that it was practically white, and it looked to reach past his waist if he stood; for now it was tied back and out of the way. When he looked up, Kagome noted the startling golden eyes. He was not a man to double cross.

"And you are?" It sounded more like an order than a question in his cold voice.

"Kagome Shashu, your new secretary and personal assistant," she said, voice unwavering. She didn't even stumbled over her fake last name. She dared to meet his eyes, and he mentally noted she wasn't one to become instantly afraid of a person. _Spunky_, he decided. Spunk was not always a good thing. Standing up swiftly, he strode to stand before the petite woman with a grace that ballerinas would envy.

"Ms. Shashu, our company does many things, and one is advertising." He got right to the point, something Sesshoumaru could always be counted on doing. He handed her a slim file containing several ideas for how to advertise a client. He wanted to see if she really was qualified for the job. Kagome took it, realizing what he wanted without being asked.

On the outside, Kagome's cool mask never cracked and her mouth stayed in its determined straight line. On the inside, however, she was doing a small victory dance and cheering in a wild, out of control way that seemed unnatural after her recent ordeal with Naraku. _This _was something she could do! She had worked at an advertising agency before this whole mess with her ex started and had been told she was really good at her job. Opening the file, she glanced quickly over the suggestions. One struck immediately out at her. "The second one," she told her second boss, handing the file back to him.

Sesshoumaru took it from her and read the one she chose. He turned on his heel and again sat behind his desk. Bending his head back over his work, he said in his emotionless drawl, "That will do, Ms. Shashu."

Kagome took that as an 'I agree, and you passed my test.' Bowing her head in respect, she left the office to find her next assignment.

* * *

The day went by quickly without too many mishaps. Inuyasha wanted to try and push her over the edge by having her go out and do silly tasks like getting him coffee and eight different newspapers. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, gave her meaningful small jobs that actually had to do with the company. An understanding was reached between them, and she often looked over advertising projects throughout the day and gave him her opinion.

Running around the large, fifty-story office building, Kagome met many people.

On the third floor was a nice young man in his late teens, an intern named Nobunaga. Kagome and he became quick friends, and she noted with interest his habit of being really clumsy. Several times during her first day, she had seen him drop things, trip, and fall down the stairs. On the thirty-forth floor was an extremely cute guy in his mid-twenties. He was tall with light brown hair and his name was Hojo. Unfortunately, Kagome got the vibe he was too sweet for his own good and probably had his dense moments. She also met a nice girl around her age on the twenty-third floor named Ayame. She had fiery red hair, and the two young women hit it off right away.

Of course, there were also those irritating coworkers. One she happened to meet in Sesshoumaru's office around noon, earlier that day.

_"Mr. Youkai, I got that file on the American project you wanted," Kagome called as she stepped into the office._

_Inside, however, she saw an extremely ugly man. He was very short and had a green tint to his skin. Eyes popped out of his face. _A toad_, Kagome realized what he reminded her of with a smothered laugh._

_He stood in front of Sesshoumaru's desk talking to the powerful man. "And Lord Sesshoumaru, you are all too smart and witty and handsome," the ugly man fawned._

_Mr. Youkai was currently glaring at him, not caring for the compliments. "Jaken..." he warned, his voice low and collected._

_The toad man carried on, unhearing._

_Kagome stifled a giggle. Sesshoumaru Youkai may have an emotionless mask and unfeeling outside, but if you looked really hard you could see emotion. Buried behind his deep golden eyes, it was hidden. It would probably take someone many years of acquaintance with the guy to read it, but Kagome could already; she'd always been good at reading people. She just had to concentrate hard to do it._

_And right now, she saw anger and discomfort in the presence of this 'Jaken' person._

_"Excuse me," Kagome called out as she walked up to Jaken._

_"What do you want, lowly secretary," Jaken spat as he turned his attention to her. Sesshoumaru also looked up to try and figure out what she was up to. Interest now sparked in his eyes, but again you couldn't tell if you just looked at him quickly._

_Kagome let the tone pass and put on a brilliant smile, "I was talking to some of the other workers, and they were trying to find a really reliable person to transport some information. Quite a few of them suggested your name, so I popped up here to see if you were interested," she explained, the lie slipping off her tongue easily._

_Jaken's yellow eyes shone with pride. "Of course they would recommend me! I better go and find them to take over the duty before any incompetent fools ruin it. Excuse me Lord Sesshoumaru, but pressing matters call." And with that the toad, well, _man_ marched out of the office._

_As soon as Kagome was sure Jaken was out of earshot, she burst into laughter. "That was almost too easy!" she giggled, clutching at her sides._

_Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow at his secretary before turning back to his work._ _He didn't say anything, but Kagome could feel that the silence was a good one. She thought of it as his way of a thank you._ _Placing the folder on top of all the other piles of paperwork, Kagome walked out of the office without another word._

As evening fell, Kagome knocked again on Sesshoumaru's office door before poking her head in. "I'll be leaving soon, Mr. Youkai, is there anything I can do for you before I leave?" she asked.

"No, Ms. Shashu. Good evening," he said without looking up. He heard the door snap shut and went back to reading the assignment in front of him.

Back on Inuyasha's floor, she walked into his office.

"Can I go now?" Kagome asked. She almost didn't bother to listen to the answer, expecting him to say yes.

"Of course not," Inuyasha growled.

"What?" Kagome almost shouted, looking at him incredulously.

Inuyasha looked up and glared at the young woman. "I'm not done here, and it is your duty to be at my beck and call whenever I need you," he explained in an exasperated voice.

"I am not some dog, Inuyasha, and I need to get back home to my family. It's already dark and the building is deserted except for us and your brother," she pointed out, striving to be reasonable. She tamped down on the anger rising in her throat.

Inuyasha growled and stood up. He had noticed that Sesshoumaru had accepted Kagome so easily. It hurt him to think his half-brother would do that to a complete stranger but not to his own flesh and blood. Shoving away from his desk, Inuyasha stalked over to where Kagome stood her ground in the doorway. "You're staying here, and that's final!" he started to take a step closer, and Kagome was forced to back up, eventually reaching the side wall of the office.

With her back pressed against the wall, she gulped forcefully before saying weakly, "Too bad! I'm leaving."

Inuyasha pressed in closer and leaned forward so their noses were just inches apart. He glared at her before grounding out, "You leave, and you're fired. You need me and this job, Ms. Shashu."

Anger overtook Kagome's features. She told him coldly, "Correction, Mr. Youkai, I need this job. Not you."

Inuyasha took a step back to think about this comment. He noticed a lock of hair falling into Kagome's eyes, and he sub-consciously raised his hand to remove it, honestly moving on instinct with no real thought behind his actions. Kagome watched with wide eyes as he lifted his hand up. Confused, he watched as the woman in front of him winced and screwed her eyes shut, waiting for a blow, at his small movement. His anger instantly died out, dropping so fast that it left him feeling unsteady on his feet.

_What did you do to her, Naraku? _

Slowly, carefully, he reached forward and tucked the loose piece of hair behind her ear. Inuyasha stroked the side of her face gently, reassuringly, as though soothing a jumpy animal or a small child. "I'd never hit you, Kagome. I'd never hit any woman," he mumbled before letting his hand drop. Taking several steps backward, he allowed her freedom, giving her a wide berth.

Kagome glanced at him quickly before practically running from his office. Outside, she collapsed in her chair at the receptionist's desk and crossed her arms over the surface. She laid her cheek against the top of her hands and closed her eyes to collect herself, fighting her stampeding heartbeat.

She had almost lost it back there. The situation was so familiar. A man having her pinned to a wall and raising a threatening hand to her. Kagome had expected to be hit back there. She had expected a beating since she had dared to defy Inuyasha, just as she had dared to defy Naraku.

That argument had taken a lot out of her.

Sesshoumaru strode into the office and found her like that. "Not sleeping on the job are we, Ms. Shashu?" he asked her.

Kagome could almost hear humor and sarcasm in his voice. Almost. The idea of Sesshoumaru showing any kind of tone in his voice made her smile wryly, once again worried at how unstable her sanity must be. "No," she promised in a small voice.

Sesshoumaru continued on past her to talk with his younger brother. Inside his office, Inuyasha was pacing with a thoughtful expression on. He looked like a kicked puppy, Sesshoumaru mentally noted. "Fire her?" Sesshoumaru asked. He certainly had the habit of being able to say what he meant in as few words as possible.

Inuyasha glared at him. "No," he huffed, angrily. "Do me a favor, fuck off and die!" the younger Youkai brother snapped.

Sesshoumaru shrugged indifferently, dismissing the odd behavior with little effort. He ignored his brother and moved on to a different topic, talking about another project that their company had taken on.

* * *

Kagome walked out into the night and found Sango's car in the large empty parking lot. Sliding in, she drove to the only other place she knew around there, the ice cream parlor. Picking up some ice cream for the three boys and Sango, she left to get back into the car. Kagome never noticed the interested look she got from another customer. She also didn't notice the other woman getting into a car behind her and following close behind out of the parking lot.

Near the edge of the city, Kagome finally checked her review mirror and saw the blood red car keeping a close tab on her. Worry clenched her heart before she realized that the car hadn't been there when she had left the Inutaisho Company, only after the ice cream parlor. That gladdened her, to know that the person didn't know where she had been, where she was currently working.

Using a trick she had learned from a movie once, Kagome drove around until she found what she was looking for. She pulled into the parking lot of a police station, right in front of a group of cops chatting out front.

Kagome smiled when she saw the car grudgingly move on. Waiting a good ten minutes, she finally continued on her way home, very carefully checking her review mirror every other block.

Fortunately, no one followed her this time.

* * *

"What?" was Sango's outcry when Kagome told her of the little adventure she had had after work.

"No one saw me leave work or come here," Kagome reassured her friend. "I'm safe... for now, anyway."

Sango looked skeptical but finally caved in. "Fine! But we need to tell Miroku that someone probably working for Naraku has located you."

Kagome nodded. "Yeah, that sounds okay," she agreed.

Sango nodded and led the way up the stairs. They said a quick goodnight on the landing before finding their own rooms.

Sango was still worried.

Kagome didn't sleep too well that night, either.

* * *

"Look, Kagome, I'm sorry about yesterday, okay? Jeez, you didn't have to lose sleep over it," Inuyasha stated, surprised, when the usually perky Kagome dragged her feet into his office the next morning. The young woman had dark circles under her eyes and kept jumping at every little sound. Kagome had worn all black that day, from her pants to her blouse, and even her bright stormy eyes seemed darker than usual.

"Not everything is about you, Mr. Youkai," Kagome snapped.

Inuyasha looked a little taken aback. "Okay, okay," he muttered, quickly averting his eyes as though his very gaze would incite her to violence.

Kagome sighed, feeling a little guilty as how easily she took her anger out on Inuyasha. It wasn't _entirely_ his fault that she was in a bad mood and that his bad attitude brought out the worse in her. "I had a rough evening, okay?" she murmured meekly, by way of an apology.

Inuyasha brought his gaze up quickly, wondering at what she could possibly mean. Before he could say anything directly to her face, Kagome turned around to head back out to her desk. His voice stopped her before she made it through the doorway. "You know you can tell me anything, right, Kagome?" he asked, his voice soft, aiming for sincere.

Inuyasha was definitely confusing the poor girl. First he was a jerk, then he was cocky, then he was mean, then he was gentle, then he was cocky again, and now he was being nice. _What's with this guy?_ she asked herself. Unable to figure out how she was supposed to react, Kagome simply decided to turn around and give him a small smile. She was a forgiving person by nature, and that default seemed a lot easier than continuing to argue and fight with him. "Maybe later, Inuyasha," she said. It sounded like a compromise.

_At least she's back to calling me by my first name_, he thought as the office door closed behind her.

To be honest, he was confusing himself, too. Kagome seemed to bring out the worst, and best, in him. Mostly, he blamed her. The woman was more confusing than any other person he'd ever met before; at least, at the moment, that's what it felt like.

Running his hand through his hair he went back to his paperwork. Inuyasha was a naturally a cocky guy, and a bit of a jerk, but when it came to friends, _real_ friends, he was protective and as nice as his personality allowed him to be. If he had to try to be more gentle and nice to earn Kagome's trust, then he'd do it.

She had obviously been hurt, and she didn't need that again.

It bothered him he'd have to alter his attitude to keep Kagome as a friend. This idea was startling, since he couldn't pinpoint when exactly he had decided to consider her as a friend. He barely knew the girl, and he wasn't as trusting as Sango or even Miroku was.

_Since you couldn't help it_. A little voice answered in the back of his mind; it sounded a lot like Inuyasha.

'Who the hell are you?'

_The voice inside your head_, it replied ominously.

'Well, get the fuck out!'

_Temper, temper. Don't beat yourself up about being nice to Kagome; most people would be, too_.

'What do you mean?'

_Kagome is one of those people that can't help but draw people into friendships_, it explained.

'Right...' Inuyasha thought.

_Don't strain yourself there, big guy! Just accept it and think about it later_, the voice warned.

Inuyasha grunted out loud before starting on the mountain of paperwork in front of him, only a little concerned that he'd just argued with himself.

* * *

"She's in Tokyo," a feminine voice stated simply as soon as someone picked up the phone on the other side of the line.

"What ever happened to a simple hello, Kagura?" a cold voice questioned coolly.

"Shut up, Naraku," Kagura snapped.

"Now, now, Kagura. Where are your manners?" Naraku chuckled darkly.

"I must have left them in Kyoto," Kagura answered dryly, unamused.

"Well find them before you talk to me again."

Kagura hung up and concentrated on the bright road ahead of her. She'd have to get some back up, if she wanted to find and keep tabs on Kagome Higurashi in a city as large as Tokyo.

**Next Chapter: Threats**


	6. Threats

Excitement this chapter, not information! You readers should be jumping for joy right about now.

Just to lay any of your doubts to rest, this is (will be) Inuyasha/Kagome.

Edited: 7/8/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Six: Threats

* * *

"Want to go get some lunch with me, Ms. Shashu?" Inuyasha asked as he walked out of his office to find his secretary pouring over some assignments his half-brother had given her. He was back to normal, a little overly cocky, but somehow he seemed nicer than before. Kagome had a feeling that it was going to be like that way for awhile, although she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"Sure! Oh, and please, just call me Kagome. It feels weird being called Ms. Shashu, since it's—" Kagome quickly cut herself off, swallowing down the words she had almost let loose. It didn't seem appropriate to go around in public, announcing that her last name was actually fake. Shrugging off the uncomfortable feeling that had settled over her shoulders when she remembered she was pretending to be someone other than herself, Kagome pushed away from her desk. Inuyasha fell into step beside her as they approached the elevator bank, and she reached out to hit the button to call the elevator to their floor.

Inuyasha waited beside her, tapping his foot impatiently. His secretary eyed his movement with a quirked eyebrow, trying very hard not get irritated. Thankfully, Inuyasha snapped out of his daze long enough to see how annoyed Kagome was beginning to get, her blue-gray eyes narrowed as she stared at his foot. Stopping the infernal noise, he smirked when the elevator finally dinged to a stop. The doors whooshed open, allowing the duo to hear the music playing softly inside. Stepping in, they stood side by side as the doors shut again— only to feel the elevator jerk to a stop the next floor down.

Sesshoumaru stepped in quietly. He nodded to Kagome and glanced at his half brother.

"Hello, Mr. Youkai!" Kagome chirped pleasantly. Both Youkai brothers noticed the forced tone of cheerfulness.

"Ms. Shashu," Sesshoumaru nodded again in her direction, the gesture a bit deeper this time.

Flashing a smile his way, Kagome looked up at the row of numbers above the door. She watched as the light slowly flittered down to mark that they had reached the ground floor, ignoring the silence that encompassed the three of them. The coworkers stepped off, and Sesshoumaru walked away in the direction of the filing room. Inuyasha led Kagome to the company's parking lot.

She grinned when she saw his car. Kagome loved convertibles. Something about the wind in her hair made her feel almost like she was flying, and it was a feeling that fired up the child in her. She'd close her eyes and imagine a forest flashing by, not the city views, when she rode in this type of car. Inuyasha smirked when he saw Kagome's reaction to his car. A beep sounded as he remote unlocked the car, and she jumped in, sliding her hands over the leather with an appreciative noise. He could practically see the happiness radiating off her as he slid the top down.

Carefully, Inuyasha pulled out of his parking spot and angled the nose of his car towards the street. After signaling, he pulled into the most empty lane and pushed the convertible as fast as he could without causing an accident.

"Where are we going?" Kagome called out over the wind as they rode down the busy street.

"To that diner downtown! It's the one near 74th and Sakura," Inuyasha shouted back, not taking his eyes off the road.

Kagome shrugged even though she knew he couldn't see her. "As long as I'm not paying for the both of us, I don't really care."

_That's not a half bad idea_, Inuyasha thought with a smirk as he drove. _Maybe I should make her pay, since she didn't at the ice cream parlor. She does owe me_, he mused in his head.

The rest of the drive was in a comfortable silence as Inuyasha concentrated on driving and Kagome looked around at Tokyo, her new home.

* * *

_How the hell can one man be so strong?_ Kouga thought angrily as he was slammed up against a brick wall for the umpteenth time.

"Tell me," the voice growled from the dark figure, "Where I can find her." The sunshine didn't make it into the alley, but the man could tell Kouga was not in the best of shape even in the dim lighting.

Kouga glared through half-lidded eyes at his attacker, panting from exertion. "Even if I did know, like hell I would tell you, Naraku," he spat out.

"Are you trying to tell me you don't know?" Naraku asked emotionlessly, raising an eyebrow over a red eye.

"No!" Kouga insisted, ignoring the metal tang of the taste of blood in his mouth. "I'm telling you that I'm good at tap-dancing." His bruised and bleeding arms hung limply by his sides. There would definitely be bruises where Naraku was keeping a tight hold on his neck by morning.

If Kouga lived that long, that is.

Naraku growled dangerously low in his throat, his grip tightening around the other man's throat. "You should tell me, Kouga. It is in Kagome's best interest for me to find where she is staying in Tokyo. She's happy with me; I just need to remind her of that."

Kouga laughed a short, cold laugh. "What the fuck are you talking about? I've seen what you do to her!"

"I do it, because I care," Naraku sneered.

"You beat her senselessly, keep her from her loved ones, and expect her to come back to you? What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?" Kouga shouted, struggling. He was already tired, and he'd taken a lot more hits than Naraku had. His body was already sore and aching, and the scrapes on his arms stung as blood sluggishly oozed out.

Naraku scowled, glancing away from Kouga's angry eyes. "I don't _beat_ her. I gently remind her why I'm the man in the relationship." He thought back on the last few years. He didn't use to raise a hand against Kagome. But being an extremely powerful businessman came with consequences. Having to deal with all those assholes really took a toll on him, and it was Kagome's responsibility to be there to help him release his anger.

That was what she was good for. And he loved her for it.

Feeling his fist connect with her porcelain face was such a good feeling—it made him feel strong and secure in that strength. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if he couldn't have that release anymore.

He loved Kagome, and she loved him.

He smirked as he looked back up at Kouga. "I will find her." That was all he said before Kouga's vision went black and the young man slid down to lay in a pool of his own blood in the dark, deserted alley in the busy city of Tokyo.

Hours later, a man passing by the mouth of the alley managed to look over at just the right time to notice an unmoving lump just beyond where the sunshine ended. A small rivulet of blood had begun to creep down the concrete, and the man took a step closer. "What that—?" he began, cutting himself off when he finally recognized the bloody lump as a body. "Oh, _shit_! Someone call an ambulance! Help!"

A woman glanced at the older gentleman, startled, and quickly pulled out her cell phone and started to phone the hospital.

"It'll be okay," she reassured the bleeding, unconscious man as she came to stand over him, next to the other concerned citizen. She could see that he was bruised and bleeding along every inch of exposed skin.

* * *

Inuyasha looked at the woman sitting across from him in the expensive leather booth. Smiling cockily, he asked, "Is now later enough to ask about what happened to you last night?"

Kagome looked up from where she was stirring her iced tea with a straw. Rolling her eyes before plopping her head on an extended hand, she stated simply, "I was followed last night."

Inuyasha dropped his smirk in surprise and quickly quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. That was not what he expected; of course he had no idea what to expect from this woman anymore, not that he ever had. Sighing and yawning, the blue-eyed woman attempted to look as bored and nonchalant as she could; it wasn't fooling her boss. "Well?" Inuyasha encouraged her impatiently.

Kagome looked up. "Well, what? There isn't much more to say."

Inuyasha leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms behind his head. "Right." He chewed his lip in boredom.

The waitress, Nazuna, came and cleared away the dishes. She was too busy with her main job to recognize Kagome as one of the women from the SHA, where she worked a shift once a week. Inuyasha laid a pile of bills on top of the glass table while Kagome stood up and stretched. "Thanks," she forced out around a yawn.

"No problem," Inuyasha muttered as he led them back to the car. Hopping back inside, he pointed the silver nose of the convertible in the direction of the office and subconsciously checked his review mirror.

* * *

"Mmph," Kouga groaned as he opened his eyes, his throat too sore to make issue a more understandable word. It was only after a few blurry, slanted, disconcerting moments that he realized that one of his eyes was swollen completely shut. "What happened?" he asked no one in particular, since he could only see the ceiling. He hoped he wasn't alone in the room.

"You got into a bad fight," a nurse muttered as she readjusted Kouga's IV.

Kouga carefully turned his head on his sore neck and looked the nametag that said 'Kaede' on the nurse's uniform, and then up to the older woman's face.

She looked down at the poor young man. She was volunteering at the hospital that day since so many of the younger nurses had called in sick. Sango was home, so Kaede, who worked for the brunette as the 'nanny,' wasn't really needed to watch the boys. Of course, neither of the adults recognized the other for who they were since they had never met.

Kaede and Kouga didn't know they were connected.

Kouga nodded, his face going limp as he remembered the confrontation with Naraku. It had happened just around noon. "What time is it?"

Kaede glanced at the clock hanging on the wall behind the bed's headboard. "6:35 in the evening."

"_What_?" Kouga roared as he leaped up out of the hospital bed before quickly falling back down in a spasm of pain.

Kaede looked at him with an amused expression on her face. "Problem?" she asked calmly.

Kouga closed his eyes and moaned. _Great, just great! I come looking for Kagome to catch up with her and end up in the hospital because of her abusive boyfriend._ "No," he ground out.

Kaede raised an ancient gray eyebrow before walking away without another word.

* * *

"Bet you can't catch me!" Kohaku yelled as he raced backwards looking at Souta and Shippou who were frantically trying to keep up.

"Can, too!" Souta hollered back.

Kohaku turned back face forward and slowed down at the edge of the forest. Normally, the group of trees gave the young boy a sense of protection and welcome, but today it felt foreboding. Sango's younger brother stared intently into the green foliage, trying to figure out why he was feeling so creeped out.

Souta caught up to him and bent over, hands on knees, trying to catch his breath. Shippou came bounding over just seconds afterward.

"What's wrong?" Souta asked, panting as he peered up at Kohaku, who was only a year older than himself.

Kohaku turned back to answer with curious brown eyes when a voice stopped him.

"Why nothing is, is it?" a cool voice called out from behind a rather large oak tree.

Souta looked up into the crimson eyes of the man he had thought he had escaped from. He squeaked in surprise, and his pale face went slack. Shippou shivered uncontrollably and clung to his uncle's leg. He whimpered and gazed at the dew-kissed grass that was just now showing death for the upcoming winter, but only in the spot where Naraku had chosen to stand.

Kohaku looked at his new friends' terrified faces and bit back his own horror. He gazed coolly up at the stranger's face and determinedly stated, "This is private property owned by my sister and myself, and you are trespassing."

Naraku glared at the young man. He then looked into the faces of Souta and Shippou. "Good to see you, boys," he stated calmly.

Souta started to shiver like Shippou and just gazed back at the man.

Naraku had never hit Souta and Shippou; he had never needed to since he had Kagome. But the boys had had to watch in terror every time that this man had hurt the most important person in their lives. And they had been powerless to stop him. Naraku smirked at the horror-stricken children. He turned to Souta, who seemed to have the most grasp on the situation. "Tell your sister we'll be together again real soon," he stated in his low, collected voice before stalking back into the darkness of the forest.

Kohaku watched him leave before turning back to the terrified, silent boys. "Let's go," he ordered, pushing at them to get their feet moving.

The three walked back to the mansion in a disturbed silence.

Suddenly, the bright pink and orange sunset didn't seem as spectacular anymore.

Laughter filled the great hall. The four adults were sitting around the mahogany dining table playing a card game. Plates full of picked at and uneaten food had been pushed down to the unused half of the table to wait for later. A glass of rose-colored wine was clutched in each of their hands as they joked about odds and ends, the events of the past day forgotten.

That is, until the three boys entered.

Kagome was the first to notice their presence and quickly bit off her giggles. Standing up, she knocked down her chair in her haste and raced to the pale children. Kagome patted each one down, attempting to find any injuries, and her blue eyes turned stormy with worry. "What happened?" she demanded breathlessly.

Shippou was too shaken up to do anything but attach himself unmoving to Kagome's chest, and Kohaku didn't know enough to offer a full explanation. Everyone's eyes moved to Souta. He breathed deeply in an attempt to calm his pounding heart. Looking up at his older sister, his deep chocolate eyes filled with unmasked fear and worry. "Naraku," he whispered staring at his sister in terror, his lower lip trembling. He felt weak.

Kagome shook visibly, and it did not go unnoticed by anyone in the room. Sango's smile slid off her face, Miroku looked disgusted, and Inuyasha's face filled with pure fury. Kagome paled and looked at her small family with wide eyes. Tears welled up, but she refused to let them fall as she choked out, "He found us."

Inuyasha clenched his jaw in an attempt to keep from showing his annoyance by yelling at the poor girl for stating the obvious.

Souta leaned in towards his older sibling, and Kagome wrapped an arm around him as Shippou clung between them trying to stay strong for his adopted mother's sake. Kagome looked up at her new friends, the people she had come to trust so quickly and completely. And they all saw the pain unveiled in her eyes. "We have to leave again."

Miroku and Sango stared at her, mirroring her pain. "No," Sango whispered. She didn't want to lose her friend, especially if it meant that Kagome was just going out to possibly get hurt again.

"She doesn't have to."

The three adults, and three kids, turned to stare at the one who had spoken.

Inuyasha gazed calmly back while leaning into his chair.

Kagome's sadness and fear turned to anger. "What is wrong with you? You can't just offer something, just to tease someone! You have to mean it! This is not a joke," she raged.

Inuyasha seemed unaffected by her accusing tone. "I'm not joking," he replied. "I'm serious."

Kagome's face went slack, and she opened her mouth only to close it again in confusion.

"My, and my brother's, mansion has a top of the line security system. Every entry to the grounds is videotaped by a non-hackable camera. The cameras are watched by an on-duty guard every second of every day. The halls of my home are like a giant labyrinth, and you could get lost if you didn't know the place."

It was like he was dangling a string of hope before her eyes, and like a drowning victim, Kagome latched on. "Are you sure you wouldn't mind?" she whispered timidly.

Inuyasha looked at her coolly, a smug smirk tugging at his lips. "Of course not." Almost as an afterthought, he added, "I don't like to see my friends, Sango and Miroku, upset."

Kagome turned away quickly, so he wouldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes. _Am I really that unimportant?_ Miroku and Sango were too busy celebrating Kagome's stay to see how upset she still was. But Inuyasha did.

"I'm going to put the young ones to bed," Kagome said quietly as she crept up stairs, still keeping her eyes averted. "Good night," she called over her shoulder.

Sango and Miroku just chatted away, but Inuyasha watched her with heavy eyes as Kagome crawled out of the room.

_Why'd you go and do that. I thought we agreed to be nice to her_! The voice was back.

'_NOT YOU AGAIN_!'

* * *

"Kagura, I contacted Juuroumaru. He agreed to help you with the technical difficulties," a whispery voice told her older sister over the phone.

"Thank you, Kanna," Kagura said affectionately. Kanna had always been a bit subdued since the death of their parents, which was made all the more depressing considering Kanna was only as old as Souta. As a child that young, she should be overflowing with joy and energy. "Make sure he doesn't screw this up. Naraku will skin us alive if the information doesn't come in soon," Kagura added in her regular harsh voice, striving to sound professional.

A ghost of a smile passed over Kanna's pale face back in Kagura's office in Kyoto, unseen by her sister over the phone. She really did love her sister, even if neither of them showed it very publicly.

Kagura slammed the cell phone's flap shut and continued to stare at the mansion through the twilight.

_Why Kagome? I warned you, I tried to tell you. You just didn't listen._ Kagura mentally chided the ebony-haired girl she could see tucking her son and brother into bed through a third story window.

_I tried._

* * *

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at his younger sibling back at their rather large home. Inuyasha had just arrived home to explain to Sesshoumaru that Kagome Shashu, their secretary, was moving in with them.

"Why?" Sesshoumaru asked simply. Not that he would mind sharing his home with another person; the castle was large enough that he'd more than likely not see anyone for an entire day even if he spent that day wondering all the halls looking for one.

Yes. Castle. Inutaisho, the Youkai brothers' father, had found an old, magnificent castle that had been built in the feudal era. It was only one level, but it sprawled out and took up nearly two acres of land.

It was unbelievably large.

Green-rolling hills surrounded the tan, stone building. Inutaisho had remodeled the castle. All modern appliances had been added and carpet layered every floor. The ceiling had been reinforced and the crumbling walls rebuilt.

Inuyasha sighed and then continued to explain Kagome's problem, just without too many details. Once he was done, Sesshoumaru nodded his permission and walked off to prepare for bed. Kagome wouldn't be too bad to live with, he decided.

Plus, he didn't really care.

Although he felt the oddest feeling of wanting to keep her protected.

Probably something that had to do with her situation with the Shippou child Inuyasha had mentioned, which was something he could relate to.

**Next Chapter: At the Hospital**


	7. At the Hospital

In this chapter, we learn more of Kagome's past... but not all of it.

Edited: 7/9/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Seven: At the Hospital

* * *

"Kagome, I have been properly informed of your situation," Sesshoumaru explained to his secretary without even glancing up from his desk. He shuffled his paperwork and filed something away, moving in quick efficient actions.

Startled, Kagome jumped a little where she stood in the doorway, her hands automatically going to the hem of her shirt and twisting the fabric nervously. She had thought her boss had called her into his office to discuss the Belgium project that he had handed off to her the previous day. Unsure of how to respond, she said nothing, dropping her eyes to her feet. As the silence stretched on, Sesshoumaru finally glanced at his secretary, more surprised that the fiery young woman was at a loss for words than her situation with Naraku. With his intense eyes on her, Kagome finally nodded to him, to show that she was in fact listening even if she had not said anything back to him; the stiff gesture was all she could manage since she felt like something was lodged in her throat.

A barely audible sigh escaped the elder Mr. Youkai's lips, and he rolled his words over in his mind before choosing them carefully. "It would be a pleasure to help you out. Having a live-in secretary will likely increase our work load output."

The woman wasn't sure if her boss was attempting a joke or not, so instead she just nodded again and said, very quietly, "Thank you, sir." To reinforce her gratitude, she dipped her head in a shallow bow and backed out of the room, closing the door as she went.

Stunned, Kagome stood outside in the receptionist's area, trying to sort out her emotions. The idea that Sesshoumaru, her boss, a man she had only just met and was trying to hard to impress with her worth ethic, now knew some of her troubled past with Naraku... she wasn't sure exactly how that made her feel, but she knew it wasn't anything good. The easiest emotion to identify was anger, and it was directed at the man working on the floor right above where she stood at the moment.

A storm raising inside of her, Kagome stalked over to the elevator bank and jabbed her finger at the button to call a ride. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, the idea that her shameful secret was spreading to even more people without her control. If she didn't already feel like a charity case and damaged goods, she definitely felt it now.

The elevator ride was agonizingly slow, and the tinkling music in the background only served to infuriate her all the more. As soon as the doors slid open, Kagome launched herself from them, barging into Inuyasha's office without so much as a knock. "Why did you have to tell him?" she shouted, outraged, slamming both hands on top of his desk.

Inuyasha leaned back into his chair, trying to put as much space between him at the enraged woman as he possibly could, struggling to understand what exactly she was talking about. A truly angry Kagome was far more intimidating than he ever could have guessed.

Not waiting for an answer, Kagome began to pace the maroon carpet like a caged tiger, her hands alternating between being curled into fists and hooked like claws. All the while, she kept yelling, "Damn it, Inuyasha! I worked hard for your brother to see me as a good worker, to respect my decisions. I can't believe you told him about me; now he probably can't see me as an employee anymore, just some scared little girl that needs protection."

Kagome whipped around to glare at the young man just in time to see him sigh in relief, his shoulders actually slumping away from the tension he'd been holding them up with. "This is about Sesshoumaru's respect?" he asked, a smile tugging on the corners of his lips; now that he understood, he could argue back.

"Yes!"

Inuyasha chuckled low, but it was not a happy laugh. "Sesshoumaru doesn't respect anyone. The only person he trusts to do the job right is himself; he respects no one, especially not a lowly employee like a secretary."

Kagome stared incredulously at Inuyasha, her mouth gaping open and the anger draining from her eyes. She worked hard at her job, taking this one as seriously as she had the one in Kyoto. There wasn't anything she didn't tackle without her full attention and determination to get it done properly. Although she was new at the company, that didn't mean she didn't care deeply about it or didn't do her absolute best. It honestly bothered her to think that the boss she had come to respect so quickly for his quick decisions in the office would never respect her.

"Do I really?" a cool voice asked from the doorway.

Inuyasha jumped slightly, snapping his gaze from Kagome to his half-brother. "Shit, Sesshoumaru! Think you could knock every once in awhile?"

"My _dearest_ brother," the elder Youkai man said with only the slightest hint of sarcasm escaping his control. "I can do anything I please."

"Hello, Mr. Youkai," Kagome greeted in a very small voice, fidgeting with her knee-length black skirt as though she was very interested in making it sit just right.

Sesshoumaru kept his eyes on his brother. "Inuyasha, I having a meeting in Kyoto. Please take the time to show Kagome around _our _house." The slight emphasis he put on the word 'our' did not escape anyone's notice, made all the more serious by his cold, drawling voice.

Inuyasha's lip twitched; it came dangerously close to a scowl. With a good amount of determination, he schooled his expression into a neutral one, shoving down the urge to let loose a string of profanities. With a barely perceptible nod to Kagome, Sesshoumaru swept from the room. Kagome watched him leave with a small triumphant smile on her lips, deciding that actually meant she did hold a little bit of respect. At least from the Youkai brother that really mattered.

"I'm pretty sure he's only happy to have you move in with us because you're young and female," Inuyasha teased spitefully with wide, innocent eyes.

With one last dirty look in his direction, Kagome stormed from his office, deciding resolutely that she would work from her desk on the floor below for the rest of the day. Once she reached the floor below, she sat in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, mentally berating Inuyasha for just having to have the last word in their argument. With a ding! however, the elevator slid back open and a cheerful woman stepped off.

"Hey, Kagome!" Ayame greeted, striding up to Kagome's desk with a wide grin on her face. With each step, her pigtails swayed, somehow adding to the overall vibe of joy radiating off of her.

Shaking off her sour mood, Kagome smiled at her coworker. "Hi, Ayame."

The redhead produced a envelope from a messenger back slung over one shoulder. She laid it down in front of the secretary with a wink. "This goes to Mr. Youkai."

"Which one of them?"

"The intelligent one," Ayame clarified, unable to help herself. She giggled. "I'd give it to him myself, but, well, he's _Sesshoumaru Youkai_. I think he can actually see into your soul with those eyes of his."

"Sometimes I get that feeling, too. Oh, hey, Sesshoumaru actually just left a few minutes ago for Kyoto," Kagome apologized, picking up the envelope and holding it out to Ayame to take back.

The redhead shrugged however and waved her hand dismissively, indicating she didn't want it back. "I did my job and delivered it on time. Just because he wasn't here to receive it doesn't mean I can get my ass fired! What to get some lunch?"

"Yeah, sure!" Kagome shuffled all her papers into a neat pile and snatched her purse from the bottom drawer. As she started to lead the way to the elevator, Ayame stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Shouldn't you go ask Inuyasha if you can go take your lunch break?" Ayame asked, resorting to using his last name to avoid the confusion caused by the fact that both of their bosses had the same last name.

"No way am I doing that," Kagome countered with small frown. A very small surge of anger at his name caused her to hit the 'down' button more harshly than she meant to. Surprised, Ayame tried to decide between laughing and showing concern about what could possibly be a very bad idea for a new employee to take off without alerting her boss. "It's time for lunch, and I get an hour for that everyday. Inuyasha can do his own goddamn filing in the meantime."

The redhead trailed onto the elevator after the other girl with a slightly dumbfounded laugh.

Upstairs in his office, Inuyasha was fuming. He'd called down to Kagome's other desk, but her phone had rung only once before being redirected to her voice mail. The guard at the front desk hadn't seen her, and Sesshoumaru had already left the building. It had only been few minutes since their confrontation, but he was already regretting his joke. Even Inuyasha could recognize that it was in poor taste, but he wished Kagome had a better sense of humor. That morning he'd received a call from Sango reminding him that he needed to watch himself when it came to Kagome; she didn't know him well enough to let his jokes and jabs roll off her shoulders, and even if she appeared headstrong most of the time, she was still dealing with a very fragile situation. As Inuyasha came to stand at his window, he looked down just in time to see a red car go speeding out of the parking lot. Although fifty stories up, he had a bad feeling that he knew who was in the car. Cursing, the businessman remembered that he'd sworn up and down to Sango during their phone call that he wouldn't let Kagome out of his sight.

* * *

At WacDonalds, Kagome and Ayame gathered up their wrappers and dumped them in the nearby trashcan.

"Oh shoot!" Ayame said suddenly, snapping her fingers as realization dawned on her. "Do you mind if we use our last half hour to visit my grandpa at the hospital?"

Kagome shook her head with a smile. Suddenly, she pictured her own grandfather in her mind, his wide smile with the crinkles at the corners of his eyes. She missed him fiercely, wishing all it took to see him again was a short walk to a hospital room. Instead, he was miles away in a city that wasn't safe for her to go to. Even worse, it had been years since she had seen him anyway, back before Naraku had become so controlling.

The girls left the fast food restaurant and took to the streets, leaving Ayame's little red car in the parking lot. The tall hospital was visible in the distance, towering over several of the other buildings around it. The short walk left Kagome feeling far less guilty about the greasy cheeseburger and french fries she had just indulged in, and it gave the coworkers plenty of time to get to know one another. Kagome shared stories of Souta and Shippou while Ayame laughed at the descriptions of all the goofy things the boys had done. Once the women reached the hospital, Ayame went straight to the small gift shop on the ground floor, Kagome trailing after her.

Now that they were there, a knot had formed in Kagome's throat; she'd forgotten how much she hated hospitals until she remembered the clinical, sterile smell of it.

"A bouquet of daisies, please?" Ayame told the old woman manning the flower stand. She exchanged some bills from her wallet for the flowers and led the way to the forth floor. "Grandpa broke his hip while sweeping a week ago. His bones are so fragile that the hospital refused to allow him to leave till it was healed," she explained to Kagome as they rode the elevator, missing the tight way Kagome was holding her jaw, which was getting worse the longer they were in the building.

As Ayame continued to yammer on beside her, Kagome closed her eyes and tried to force away the memories that flooded her mind.

_"Twenty year old female, critical condition," a male nurse shouted as he rolled the stretcher in. The ambulance's lights were still bright outside, throwing bright colors on walls of the hospital. "Four fractured ribs, large blow to the back of the head, heavy concussion!" he continued to list to the nurses and doctors as they swarmed the patient, running alongside. The woman on the stretcher had long, black hair and heavy blue eyes, barely open. She surveyed the commotion around her with little understanding, struggling to register the bright lights, white walls, and yelling personnel. Breathing with the oxygen mask alone took most of her concentration. _

_"What's her blood type?" one asked as they drew closer to the operating room, reaching over and lifting one of the woman's eyelids to examine how dilated her pupils were._

_"It's O positive," a calm voice said, following at a steady but more controlled clip behind the doctors._

_Kagome winced at the sound of his voice._

_Sternly, the doctor instructed the man to remain outside the room during the procedure. The waiting room was nearby, and someone would come get him when they knew anything more. Instead of sitting down, the man peered through the small, round window at the operating table as the doctors and nurses worked on his girlfriend, not even flinching at the blood splattering their scrubs. Within an hour,__ Kagome Higurashi was hooked up to several machines to monitor her vitals. In addition to a blood transfusion, the hospital had to set the bones in her broken wrist and ankle. The casts looked stark white, only a few shades whiter than her pale skin. Her ribs, wrist, and ankle had broken during her fall down the stairs. _

_The nurse allowed Naraku into the room, watching him sit down on the stool set up next to Kagome's head. The woman slept on, unaware, breathing the slow, deep breaths of someone completely unconscious and heavily medicated. He reached out and took hold of her fragile hand, wrapping his long, callused fingers around it. _

_"It will never happen again," he whispered soothingly to Kagome once the nurse walked away. "Never, never again."_

_When Kagome woke up the next day, she believed him. _

Kagome shivered at the memory and crossed her arms protectively over her chest, hunching her shoulders. It had been the first time he beat her, but it most definitely wasn't the last. Naraku had had a rough day at the office and came home smelling strongly of whisk y. It was only after he started hitting her that he smiled, a wide, eerie smile that didn't go away until she landed at the bottom of the stairs in a crumpled heap. When she left the hospital a week later, she'd had three broken bones, four fractured ribs, a black eyes, and several bruises and gashes. The only damage her head suffered from her tumble down the steps was a heavy concussion.

She had actually been lucky; she could have snapped her neck.

_Lucky_, she thought with a bitter smile.

Naraku hadn't beaten her with only his fists. He'd actually used Souta's baseball bat, a small, wooden one that the man had bought for the boy when he went out for little league. Souta and Shippou had been out playing in the yard when the confrontation happened, but when they watched Kagome being hoisted into the ambulance, they looked on with knowing eyes.

Naraku's hate filled eyes and worried expression said it all.

Kagome trudged after her green-eyed friend down the hospital hallway, lost in thought. Suddenly, she jolted to a stop, her heart skipping a beat. Her wide, blue eyes were glued to the square window of the room on the left, recognizing the face of the man she could see through it. Finally realizing that Kagome had stopped walking, Ayame backtracked and stood at Kagome's shoulder, peering through the window, too.

Kagome grabbed the door handle and yanked hard, the force almost making her stumble. She ran to the patient's bed and fell to her knees, snatching up the limp hand that was resting on top of the sheets. Tears welled up and spilled from her eyes, increasing in intensity when the man lying in the hospital bed turned his battered face to her and opened his ice-blue eyes.

"Kagome?" Ayame asked tentatively, reaching out to her friend.

The young man's eyes widened, struggling to focus on the woman kneeling next to his bed. "Kagome?" he gasped, his voice hoarse.

"Yeah, Kouga. It's me," Kagome whispered gently, as if talking any louder would hurt him.

Kouga lifted her hand, the one clasping his own, and rubbed it against his cheek as if to make sure she was really there. Sighing, Kouga broke the news. "He's here, Kagome. He's in Tokyo."

Kagome smiled wryly, "A bit late for that Kouga. He already found me."

Kouga winced at her words and anger filled his eyes. "Did he touch you?" he spat out, disgusted with each word.

Kagome shook her head. "I didn't see him. He talked to Souta and Shippou."

If possible, Kouga became even more enraged. "Did he touch _them_?" All throughout high school, Kouga had treated Souta like his little brother, doing the things that Kagome just wasn't good at and that Souta had missed out on after their father died. The duo had played catch and learned soccer together. Kouga took the lead in all the manly discussions, relieving Kagome and Mrs. Higurashi of the burden. The idea of Naraku, who had so soundly beaten up Kouga, even laying a single finger on Souta left Kouga breathless with anger.

"No, he never has," Kagome promised quietly.

Kouga nodded, relieved just the slightest bit. "Good."

Kagome asked timidly, "Did he...?"

"I was here to check up on you, to tell you that I covered all of your tracks back home, but he found me first. He's strong. Damn it, he's so much stronger than I could ever have... How could you go through that? I barely lived."

Kagome shrugged, looking troubled. It was true that while she didn't exactly escape Naraku's beatings unscathed, she could have ended up far worse. "He must have wanted to keep me alive."

For several minutes, Kouga kept quiet, his eyes on the wall instead of Kagome. He remembered his discussion with Naraku, how the delusional man had claimed that Kagome loved him, that he loved her. After an internal struggle, Kouga decided not to relay this information to the young woman in fear that it would spark some similar delusion in her. There was no doubt that Kagome was a smart person, but that didn't mean she didn't have her faults. Kagome was type of woman who thought if she could help someone, even a bastard like Naraku, she would try.

"Go to sleep Kouga. Get some rest," Kagome was saying quietly, dragging her friend's attention back to her. "He won't be able to get to you in the hospital. I'm sorry, I really am. I'll be back to check on you whenever I can. Thank you for your help and... _please_, don't worry about me."

Kouga nodded and slowly drifted off into sleep, his hand still holding her tightly. Once his breathing evened out, Kagome unraveled their fingers and stood up, stepping away from the bed. With a look at Ayame, the two women silently left the room and walked side-by-side to Ayame's grandfather.

The redhead's eyes were troubled. She kept glancing at Kagome but kept her mouth shut, torn between asking in order to understand better and wanting to not understand at all. Firmly, she hoped that she was doing the right thing when she decided to let it all go. As she put her hand to the handle of her grandfather's room, Kagome stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Someday, I'll tell you everything. I swear. It's just not a good idea right now," Kagome promised.

The green-eyed woman nodded and pasted on a bright smile, finally opening the door to her awaiting grandfather.

* * *

When Inuyasha stalked into the hospital half an hour later, angrily running his hand through his hair to the point where it started to tangle, the irritation radiating off him drew the attention of almost everyone he passed. "Damn it," he cursed under his breath, his eyes scouring the ground floor, looking for a familiar head of black hair and wide, blue eyes. To his surprise, when the elevator doors slid open, Kagome stepped off them. "Kagome!"

Naturally, hushing noises erupted around him due to his shout, but he easily ignored the personnel.

Kagome stopped in her tracks, studying him and registering his upset expression and tightly fisted hands. His eyes were spitting sparks at her from across the room, and the way he'd shouted... With a sigh, Kagome approached him, her head tilted downward. "Inuyasha? What are you doing here?"

"You disappeared!" he accused hotly, grabbing her shoulders and spinning her around on the spot, looking for injuries. She was, after all, in a hospital.

"I did not!" she protested, wrenching herself out of his grip. She put her hands on her hips and leaned in closely, very close to poking him in the chest to help make her point. "I was with Ayame the whole time!"

"Yeah, that's not an excuse," he snapped, glaring at the redhead who had followed Kagome off the elevator. In response, she shrugged innocently. There was no reason to fear for her job just because she took her friend out to lunch, was there?

"Inuyasha," Kagome began slowly.

His glare increased tenfold. "What?" he barked when she didn't complete her thought.

Kagome sighed, sounding very tired. "Let's just get out of here. I hate hospitals," she muttered. Without a backward look, she walked past him and towards the automated glass doors, breathing easier once she was out in the fresh air. Ayame and Inuyasha followed, him with his hands jammed deep into his pockets. "I was just on my lunch break," Kagome snapped, her energy (and her anger) growing with every step away from the depressing building.

"You are supposed to report to me when you take your lunch break!"

Kagome and Ayame glanced at each other and giggled, remembering their conversation just before they hopped on the elevator back at the company building.

"Sounds like you were worried about Kagome," the green-eyed woman stated slyly.

"What?"

Kagome's giggles were reinforced at Inuyasha's outcry, and they increased in volume when he began to blush. "Ayame! Look! You embarrassed the poor guy," she pointed out. Unable to help herself, Ayame broke down into laughter, too, but she excused herself to find her car before Inuyasha overcame his discomfort.

With one last look at the wordless Inuyasha, Kagome trotted after her. Under her breath, she mumbled logically, "He was probably just worried about Sango getting upset with him, not about me."

Inuyasha heard her, but he squashed any feeling of wanting to correct her assumption. Let her believe what she wants. He shrugged to himself and left in the opposite direction, towards his own car. He followed Kagome and Ayame on their short walk back to Ayame's little red car in the restaurant parking lot, and then tailed them all the way back to the company. During the drive, he thought about Kagome, reviewing all the different personalities he'd seen her display. Which one was the real Kagome, the person she was before everything with Naraku happened? The cheerful, loving Kagome? The angry, spiteful Kagome? The sad, depressed Kagome? Or even the scared, defenseless Kagome?

It was frustrating not being able to get a read on a person, a friend of his friends and his very own secretary. In the end, he decided he didn't really care who Kagome was.

**Next Chapter: Memories**


	8. Memories

Edited: 7/9/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Eight: Memories

* * *

When Kagome entered Inuyasha's office at the end of that day, she found the man slumped over his desk. His cheek was pressed into his crossed arms which sat atop a tall pile of papers and forms. His long, black hair fell over his shoulder in a curtain, and his face was peaceful. For once. Asleep, he seemed so much more innocent and calm than he had ever appeared to her up to that point.

"I'm leaving now," Kagome informed him, very loud next to Inuyasha's ear.

Unsurprisingly, he jolted away, clamping one hand to his ear and narrowly missing colliding with Kagome when he jerked his head up. "Damn it," he snapped harshly; more profanities slipped out directly afterward, amusing Kagome enough to smile.

In a much better mood than she was earlier, Kagome giggled merrily. Seeing her so cheerful, Inuyasha seemed even more cross. All the other women from the shelter were so quiet and subdued, but that seemed like the only way Kagome was incapable of being. "Fine," he grunted, continuing to sulk.

Her laughter replaced by a thoughtful expression, Kagome walked backwards away from his desk and back towards the door. For the life of her, she couldn't remember the exact number of days she'd been working at the Inutaisho Company, because she was already so comfortable there. Already, she smiled and waved and greeted at least two dozen people by name on her way to her desk in the morning, and she knew exactly where everything was in all her drawers. "Hey, how many days have I worked here?" she asked finally, tilting her head in thought.

Inuyasha smirked playfully, deciding that the only way to get back at her for waking him up so rudely was to tease her. "Tomorrow is your fourth day," he started, holding up his hand and counting off on his fingers to demonstrate his point. "The first, you almost got yourself fired. The second, you showed up looking like crap. The third, today, you almost got yourself fired _again_ for leaving without permission. And the fourth, tomorrow, you will be moving in with me."

The young woman grinned in response and winked at him, refusing to take his bait. For the first time in a long while, she actually felt cheerful with most issues shoved to the side of her mind; she was absolutely not going to let a jerk like Inuyasha ruin that feeling. "At least with me around you always know to expect excitement."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and then chucked a pen at her, carefully throwing it several feet to her left so that there was no chance of hitting her. "You just might be more trouble than you're worth!"

Time seemed to slow down as they both recognized what he'd just said. Although he'd been joking, it poked at a sore spot. Kagome's grin was lost for a moment and an unidentifiable emotion darkened her stormy eyes. Mere moments later, the grin was a back, and she managed to make it look only slightly forced. "Gotta be going now!" Kagome said, sounding only slightly too cheerful. She skipped out of the office in mock happiness.

Her boss stared after her, shaking his head slowly in confusion.

* * *

Kagome tapped her fingers on the steering wheel in time to the song playing on the radio, inching her car forward as the person in front of her did the same. A large sigh escaped her lips as she looked around at the traffic surrounding her, realizing just how crowded Tokyo really was. At the rate things were moving, it would take her hours to drive home. With a start, she reexamined what she'd just thought about. She wasn't going home, she was just going to _a_ home. It wasn't hers.

"Mama," she whispered, her eyes clouding over. Before her very eyes, she saw her mother. A soft, gentle woman with short, curly hair, a warm smile, and honest eyes. Trying to force her mind to a different subject, away from the idea of 'home,' she starred into the darkness. Inuyasha's words suddenly came flooding back to her, the ones about her being more trouble than she might be worse.

She'd heard those words before only a year earlier.

_"Hey, Ms. Kaze!" a twenty year old girl called cheerfully as she walked into the room, a wide smile stretching her face._

_"Kagura. Call me Kagura, please," a young woman, only a few years older than the girl, reminded Kagome for the umpteenth time. "Formalities are wasted on me." _

_Kagome grinned wryly as she came to stand in front of Kagura's desk. "Oh, me too!" Her eyes were bright with happiness, and she looked extremely feminine and sophisticated in a black mini-skirt and angora sweater. After only a few seconds more of keeping her excitement contained, Kagome asked, "Is Naraku ready yet?" _

_Kagura held back a sigh, carefully averting her eyes down to the paperwork spread across her desk. She narrowed her eyes, studying her crimson nails. "No. The meeting ran over, but it should end shortly. Sit down," Kagura responded slowly in her deep, feminine drawl._

_With a wide smile, Kagome perched on a chair against the wall of Kagura's office to wait for her boyfriend. Kagura leaned back in her leather chair, glancing at the door that connected the room to Naraku's office. It was currently closed tightly. Thankfully, Kagura had extremely strong willpower or her eyes might have strayed to Kagome's injuries. __The two women had known each other for a year, since Kagome's nineteenth birthday party, and Kagura was surprised to find Kagome in such poor physical shape. The younger woman's arms and face were battered and bruised, and there was still gauze wrapped around Kagome's head under her heavy black bangs. __It didn't take long to figure out what had happened, but what surprised Kagura the most about the entire situation was who it had happened _to_. _

_Kagura had worked closely with Naraku for over two years. Although he hid it well, she could always tell he had an anger management problem simmering just beneath his cool exterior. __Naraku always talked about Kagome around the office, about how proud he was of the fact that his girlfriend was not only gorgeous, but intelligent and sweet as well. Kagura had gotten the impression that Naraku, that stern, egotistical bastard, actually cared for the girl. For the first time in her life, Kagura felt like an idiot. She had wrongfully thought that Kagome would keep Naraku's fury at bay. _

_At work, he was quiet and collected. At home, he was a monster._

_What struck Kagura as the worst part of what was happening was the look on Kagome's face. Shining past the bruises was a look of complete adoration and happiness. _

_Kagome seemed oblivious to Naraku's abusive actions._

_As if summoned by Kagura's thoughts, Naraku stalked out of his office at that very moment. Quickly, Kagura dropped her eyes back down to her paperwork, needlessly shuffling it again. She struggled against the sneer on her face, angered by the dark smirk on Naraku's. He walked like he owned the world. When Naraku spotted his girlfriend, the two met in the middle of the room, his smirk growing. _

_"How are you feeling?" Naraku asked, sweetly. _

_Kagome brightened instantly at his concern, but Kagura nearly gagged. Naraku did not show affection; his question was obviously not one he really wanted answered._

_"Much better," Kagome chirped, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's waist and peering up at him._

_"You might be more trouble than you're worth," Naraku teased darkly, chuckling, and rapped her lightly on the chin with a knuckle. __Taking this as a sign of affection, Kagome's smiled grew even larger. __"Lets go get some dinner," Naraku demanded. Kagome obediently skipped after him, oblivious to his commanding tone, used to following his orders without question._

_"Sounds great!"_

_Kagura narrowed her eyes at the couple's retreating backs. __"Be careful, Kagome," she whispered, her fingers tightening to a fist on top of her desk, strangling her pen. "Please, just be careful."_

Kagome gritted her teeth as she pressed down hard on the accelerator, jerking the car forward another few feet until she was once again at the bumper of the car in front of her. Naraku hadn't taken them out for food when they had left the office that day. Instead, he had beaten her. He'd shouted at her repeatedly that it was her fault that he'd lost an account that day in the meeting that had ran over. She should have been there in the room, showing him support while he argued his case; only then, he could have won, he'd accused. She'd waited for him outside his office on purpose.

Although a large part of her knew it was illogical, Kagome felt herself agreeing as she thought back on that day. She should have helped him more, should have been there. If she'd been a better girlfriend, maybe Naraku wouldn't have had to resort to beating her.

Naraku had been sure to get that into her head. That his failures were her fault.

And sitting in the car, locked in traffic with nothing to distract her but herself, Kagome was sure it really was.

* * *

"I'm here!" Kagome called loudly as she stepped into the house, dumping her purse on top of the table just inside the doorway. She kicked off her shoes and bent over to rub her sore toes. "I'm home!" she yelled again, laughing delightedly when she heard the thundering footsteps of Souta and Shippou pounding down the stairs.

"Kagome!" they both screamed, colliding into her and gripping her around the waist (Souta) and thigh (Shippou). Kagome fell back onto the floor, laughing, and took them with her, cradling her little family in her arms. She felt loved.

Then she frowned.

Some small section of her brain sabotaged the moment, reminding her that she felt loved with _Naraku_. Shippou and Souta were only this affectionate out of neediness. Naraku's love was the only love she had ever really felt, at least outside of her immediate family. Unable to sort out her feelings, Kagome roughly shoved them away instead. Untangling herself, she stood and brushed away invisible dust.

"Shopping!" she suddenly decided out loud, snapping her fingers. It made the boys jump, startled by her seemingly random shouting. The word, however, made both of them groan unhappily. Both had been hoping Kagome had forgotten about their need for possessions now that they were alone in a new city. Couldn't they just live off of Sango and Kohaku's stuff forever?

As if called by magic, Sango appeared in the doorway to the living room, a very large grin on her face. "Did someone just suggest shopping?" she asked, winking at her new friend. Kagome winked back.

"Shopping!" they sang out in unison.

At the moment, it sounded like best idea in the world, the easiest way to ease the build-up and stress. Unfortunately, it meant the opposite for the boys. Kohaku, who had been standing on the landing of the stairs watching the entire thing, crept back to his room silently, successfully avoiding the imminent trip.

* * *

"Can we go yet?" Souta complained loudly. He was leaning against the wall of the fitting room, surrounded by a heap of shopping bags.

"Soon," Kagome promised without even looking at her brother. Instead, she concentrated on holding a blue shirt up against Shippou.

"Try this!" Sango called from the other side of the partition, tossing a golden colored vest over the top of it.

"Perfect!" Kagome exclaimed as she stepped back to admire her adopted son.

Shippou looked dazed, eyes glazed over. "Yeah, this is great," he mumbled dully, sharing a pained look with Souta.

Kagome sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why don't you guys go play at the arcade?" she asked, pulling out the last of her cash, the last of what was remaining in her wallet when she had first showed up at the shelter earlier that week. Unsurprisingly, both boys perked up immediately. Souta snatched the money from his sister while Shippou smacked a kiss to her cheek, which was still within reach because she had been kneeling to help him try on clothes. They tore out of the fitting room, leaving Kagome laughing in their wake.

Sango snorted as she walked up behind her blue-eyed friend, shaking her head at their quickly retreating backs.

"My first five paychecks are going directly into your pocket," Kagome promised distractedly, collecting the hangers of clothes to take up to the register.

"You really don't have to do that!" Sango countered.

"Of course I have to! After today, me and the boys will have an entire new wardrobe thanks to you."

In mock defeat, Sango sighed and threw up on her hands. "Fine, you can pay me back, but with only _one _paycheck."

Kagome eyes widened dramatically. "I knew Inuyasha was loaded, but one paycheck will pay for all this?"

Sango shook her head with a chuckle. "Not exactly, but I'll only take one paycheck from you. Think of the rest being an early birthday present for all of you."

"Our birthdays combined with a year's worth of over holidays," Kagome commented dryly. "Counting Christmas, even though I'm pretty sure you're not Christian and don't celebrate it."

"I always liked the sound of a holiday all in the spirit of giving and receiving," Sango joked lightly. "Too bad Buddha never thought of that one! Did you know that Miroku's actually from a long line of Buddhist monks?"

"Somehow that seems strange to me, even though I still haven't seen him act as perverted as you've made him out to be."

"Inuyasha celebrates Christmas!" Sango suddenly said, remembering that not all three of the friends were Buddhist.

"Really?"

"Yeah! And we always get a gift from him! It's the only time he seems even slightly thoughtful."

Kagome's parents were Buddhist, but her grandparents on her mother's side were both among the small number of Christians in the country. She had grown up on a shrine, owned and run by her grandfather, but Kagome's mother had always honored her dead parents by celebrating a handful of Christian holidays every year. Mrs. Higurashi had converted to Buddhism when she'd married her husband, but some old habits were hard to break. Christmas and Easter were two of the holidays they often decorated the house for. Despite all that, Kagome had grown up dreaming of becoming a shrine maiden, a priestess, when she was older.

"I celebrate Christmas, too," Kagome commented quietly, thinking of her mother.

Sango fell silent, remembering that she barely knew the woman standing next to her. They may be comfortable around one another, but they were still practically strangers. A twinkle brightened her eyes as she decided they could use their last night together to get to know everything about one another.

Which is exactly how they spent the rest of the evening.

The two women took turns, rattling off a long list of preferences, from their favorite color to their least favorite food. They shared childhood memories with one another, told each other secrets like who their first kiss was, discussed political and social views. Sango revealed her parents' death in the fire, and Kagome spoke of her father's fight, and ultimate failure, with cancer. They cried together.

After that night, they knew about each other's siblings, hardships, weaknesses, and strengths. Souta's first word has been 'tree.' That was because of all the time his sister had spent with the Go-shinboku, the spiritual tree on the shrine grounds. Shippou's was 'kitsune,' because of his biological parents' fascination with the foxes. Kohaku's was 'Sango,' because of the tremendous love and respect he felt for his sister, even at that young of an age.

Sango learned of how Kagome had adopted Shippou. Kagome had been delivering a fox cub she had found at her home to the wildlife preserve run by Shippou's parents when she was sixteen. His parents were young, and they befriended Kagome quickly, paying constant visits to one another. Kagome grew to love their red-haired baby like a member of her own family, and when his parents died in car crash when she was eighteen, Kagome had gladly taken in her dear friends' son.

Throughout their long conversation, Sango unknowingly dropped many hints that there was more to her relationship with Miroku than met the eye. When the realization hit Kagome, she almost laughed out loud with glee, deciding on the spot that she would help get the couple together if she could.

By sunrise, the two girls felt even closer than before.

* * *

The next morning, Kagome took an ice cold shower to help wake her up after an entire night staying up with Sango. She drank several cups of coffee and poured more of it into a thermos to take with her to work.

"I'm going!" she called to her friend as she ran past Sango out the door, happy that her fourth day also turned out to be the last day of the working week. Whistling a happy tune, Kagome piled into Sango's car, feeling attractive in a skirt and bright red blouse. It felt even better that they were officially her own, two of the few things she had bought with her own money before Sango had to pull out her credit card to pay for the rest. Taking a large hair clip from her purse, Kagome scooped up her silky, black waves and attached the clip to the back of her head.

When she stepped on the elevator at the Inutaisho Company, Kagome came face-to-face with Sesshoumaru. "Hello, Mr. Youkai!" she greeted politely, having to tilt her head back far to see all the way up to the tall man's face.

Ignoring her cheerful mood, Sesshoumaru inclined his head towards her in greeting. "Morning," he said simply, not even bothering to add a 'good' to the front of it. In four days, he had seen Kagome act an alarming number of ways, although not as many as Inuyasha had encountered. Still, he came to a silent decision: Kagome was emotionally unstable.

Not that with he should complain.

It was actually more interesting to work with someone who wasn't completely predictable. It offered a challenge, if nothing else. But he'd have to tread carefully if he wanted to survive this. That being said, Sesshoumaru was _Sesshoumaru_, and he would act as he wanted, odd secretary or no.

**Next Chapter: Nightmare**


	9. Nightmare

A lot of short scenes in this one.

Edited: 7/10/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Nine: Nightmare

* * *

Despite herself, and despite the confident, smug smirk on Inuyasha's face, Kagome couldn't help herself. When she first saw her latest version of 'home,' her jaw dropped open, and she whispered in an awed voice, "Wow." There were no words that could possibly encompass the amazement she felt when she saw the house, one that was even more impressive than Sango's had been. Kagome had to resist jumping up and down and squealing like a little girl. It really did look like a sprawling, feudal castle. It was more than beautiful; it was gorgeous, something that appeared in photographs in those huge coffee table books or that celebrities owned. Rich burgundy, navy, and gold rugs dotted the rooms, pedestals of ancient vases and priceless works of art were scattered everywhere, and the decor looked like it came straight out of a magazine. Every room managed to look both comfortable and expensive at the same time, and Kagome had no doubt that the Youkai brothers (or their late father) had hired the best interior decorator that could be found.

By far, her most favorite room was the largest, one that had a giant surround system and a television screen that covered an entire wall. Yes, Inuyasha actually had a personal home movie theater. It was nothing short of ridiculous. Still, Kagome felt incredibly jealous. But then, she remembered that starting that day, she would be living in that house along with them.

"Like it?" Inuyasha asked sarcastically, his answer already lying in her dropped jaw.

Kagome rolled her eyes then glared at the young man playfully, a blissful smile shaping her lips. "No, of course not," she responded dryly. "The color scheme is all wrong!"

Leaning against the wall of the main hallway, Inuyasha crossed his arms against his chest. He chuckled, low and deep in his throat, looking very pleased with himself. "You can blame Sesshoumaru for all decorations."

With a startled laugh, Kagome gaped back at her boss. "_What_?" she asked, her blue eyes shimmering with amusement. Sesshoumaru may have had better hair and softer skin than any woman she had ever met, but it seemed downright silly to imagine that he'd designed the decor.

Inuyasha burst into laughter at her impression of an open-mouthed bass, and he reached out to chuck her chin to invite her to close her mouth. "Did you actually believe me? Sesshoumaru has his hands full enough."

With a glare at his hand, Kagome quickly snapped her mouth shut before it attracted flies. Quirking an eyebrow, she asked, "With the company?"

Wincing, Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek to keep from responding immediately. He'd have to tell her sooner or later, he realized; actually, he probably should have already mentioned this enormously important thing before Kagome had even stepped foot in the house. Before Inuyasha could explain himself, the answer came literally ramming into him, clinging to his leg with a shriek.

"Uncle Inuyasha!" shouted the young girl; she had messy brown hair and was wearing a vibrant orange sweater.

To Kagome's surprise, Inuyasha's face brightened at the sight of the pest. Ruffling her hair lovingly, he greeted her, "Hey, Rin."

Melting at her gaped-tooth smile, Kagome smiled at the sight of the sweet little girl. Rin only looked about a year or so younger than Souta. "Hi, there," she greeted, bending down to look the girl in the eyes. The two shared a smile.

"Hi," Rin chirped, her grin growing.

During their exchange, Inuyasha realized that he was still smiling down sweetly at Rin. His look of peace fading quickly, he struggled to figure out how the little girl had gotten such a hold on him so quickly. Shaking off his smile and rubbing the back of his head embarrassingly, he regretted looking so soft in front of Kagome. Honestly, he didn't like the idea of anyone seeing him act so soft.

Rin released her hold on her uncle and grasped Kagome's hand, peering up at the young woman with a look of pure innocence. "Will you play with Rin now?" The incorrect speech pattern seemed unbearably adorable to Kagome.

"Will you play with _me _now," corrected a cool voice. Sesshoumaru stepped into the entry hall, looking almost recognizable in a pair of casual clothes instead of his expensive, well-pressed business suit.

"No, Mr. Sesshoumaru! Rin wants to play with her now, you can play with her later," the young girl scolded the tall, elegant man in front of her. The exchange was surreal. Kagome laughed openly at her comment, and even Inuyasha cracked a smile. Sesshoumaru himself actually had to resist the urge to grin at Rin's conclusion, but the facial expression seemed far too unnatural. Rin started to skip down the long halls pulling the still giggling Kagome in her tow, away from the men. "Flowers!" she sang out as she navigated her way through the maze-like corridors of the house. Sesshoumaru watched them go with a small shake of his head.

"That went well," commented Inuyasha at his half-brother's side, watching their retreating backs.

"I agree," Sesshoumaru replied before leaving the room for his study. He had work to get done.

Shaking his head, Inuyasha headed straight to the kitchen.

Twenty minutes, Kagome looked up from the small courtyard full of flowers where Rin had her own garden. She sniffed the air delicately, noticing spices on the air. "Mmm," she hummed happily. "That smells good." Kagome grabbed a hold of Rin's hand and started tugging the girl in the direction of the smell. When she finally located the kitchen, she found Inuyasha standing at the counter noisily slurping ramen.

"Make your own," he gurgled, swiping at the broth that ran down his chin in a small rivulet.

Kagome pouted. She had been hoping for an easy meal, but it was obvious that it would be up to her to feed herself. Not only was Inuyasha eating _ramen_, but he had also only made a single serving for himself. Depositing Rin on one of the bar stools set up at the counter, Kagome started to riffle through the oak cabinets. The first door she opened revealed shelf after shelf of ramen, every imaginable flavor ever made. The smell of Inuyasha's meal still lingered in the air, making her mouth water. With a sigh, she grabbed a beef flavored one and turned back to Rin, who was kicking her feet in the air and smiling distractedly at the adults.

"What kind do you want?" Kagome asked her.

"Uhm... Shrimp!" the little girl sang out, leaning her elbows onto the counter and cradling her head.

The stove heated up quickly since Inuyasha had just used it, so Kagome quickly prepped some bowls. While the noodles boiled, Kagome took a seat next to Inuyasha and rested her chin on her crossed arms, leaning on the counter. As the minutes passed, she started to drift off to sleep, and Inuyasha grudgingly got up to finish their meals. Shaking her elbow to wake her up, he set the steaming bowls in front of his new housemate and his niece.

"Dinner," he announced, grabbing them each a set of chopsticks from a drawer. Rin immediately began slurping down her food.

"Thank you," Kagome told him sleepily, eating quickly. "I should head back to Sango's and pick up Souta and Shippou."

Rin's eyes brightened, and she pushed away her empty bowl, turning her big eyes on Kagome. "Who are they?" The idea of more kids around the house to play with seemed indescribably exciting; she loved Sesshoumaru, but he wasn't the most fun person in the world.

"My brother and son," Kagome explained patiently.

Looking up with curious eyes, Rin asked innocently, "And where's their daddy? Can't have a family without a daddy to take care of you!"

The two adults winced, and Inuyasha watched Kagome worriedly. Thoughtful, Kagome sorted through all the words available to her and attempted to string some together in a way that Rin would understand but wouldn't be too inappropriate for her age. "The daddy... is busy," Kagome said finally, ultimately failing. Adopting a fake smile and not wanting to worry the little girl only an hour after meeting her, Kagome hopped off her stool and held out her hand. "Do you want to come along?"

"Sure!" Rin answered, oblivious to the emotions swirling in her eyes. Inuyasha wasn't, however, and he could easily pick out the hurt and confusion that his niece's question had caused.

"Where's Mr. Youkai's office?" Kagome asked Inuyasha, cupping her hand around Rin's.

"You're gonna be here for awhile," Inuyasha reminded her. "You might as well call him Sesshoumaru."

Kagome looked a bit uncomfortable at the thought. "I'll see."

"Rin can show you where to find him." Inuyasha nodded to the young girl hanging off of Kagome.

"Yep, yep! Rin can!" the little girl said, grinning proudly.

Kagome nodded and silently followed Rin. It took several minutes to reach the study from the kitchen, and it really dawned on Kagome how large the house was. Reaching up to lightly knock on the door, Rin just burst through. Kagome winced. "Uhm, S-Sesshoumaru?" she asked, stumbling over the name. Sesshoumaru looked up at her hesitant voice and nodded for her to continue. "May Rin come with me to pick up my family, please?"

As Kagome was beginning to see was his habit, the man took his time in answering. Unsurprisingly, Kagome got the feeling that Sesshoumaru was very protective of Rin. Finally, he nodded his consent. "Rin, behave," he commanded gently, but sternly.

"'Course!" the little girl replied.

Thinking about how much she worried about Souta and Shippou's safety, Kagome had the sudden urge to reassure the man. "I'll take good care of her and won't let her out of my sight." The two adults shared an understanding look, and Kagome once again grabbed Rin's hand. No matter how stern and cold Sesshoumaru seemed, Rin probably meant the world to him. It reminded her strongly of her relationship with Shippou. Feeling like she understood the elder Youkai man better, Kagome guided the little girl from the room.

* * *

And somewhere not so very far away, Kagome's past continued to haunt her. It was even about to get much worse.

"Does she still have it?" a cold voice asked.

"I'm sure she does," a very straightforward, feminine voice answered. "She's always been very intelligent, and I doubt she would have just thrown it out."

"But do you have _proof_?" the cold voice growled.

The female on the other side of the phone winced, glad that she was at least not in the same room as her boss. "No."

"Then get it," he told her in warning. "I want to make sure."

"Yes, master," the woman sneered unhappily, very sure that she was beginning to hate all men because of this one.

"Good."

Then a dark laughing filled her ears, and she quickly snapped her cell phone shut.

_Kagome, you better have kept it safe. It's your last chance, your lifeline._

* * *

That night, in her bed in her new home, Kagome shivered uncontrollably. Twisting and turning, a cold sweat drenched her body. The more the struggled in her sleep, the more she became entangled in the sheets, which in turn led to her feeling more confined and under attack. Visions of men with evil smirks and low, dangerous words swarmed her dream-weary mind. Constantly flashing in the background was a pale, glowing glint of pink. Over and over again, a pink flash pulsating like a warning. Overlaying all of it was his dark laughter, a low chuckle that he always let loose when he felt he had succeeded.

Troubled, Kagome began to whimper. She even called out, a long, strangled cry.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha whispered as he pushed open her shut door. The room she had claimed was next to his, and he had heard the commotion through his wall. He had always been a light sleeper, easily waking up to noises in the nighttime.

"_No_!" Kagome whispered fervently in her sleep, whipping her head against her pillow, her brow furrowed with anger. "You can't have it!"

Inuyasha's concern and curiosity got the best of him, and he crept into her room, fighting off drowsiness. Quickly, he started to untangle the sheets wrapped around Kagome's limbs, gently removing them from her thrashing form. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled her to him, cradling the still-sleeping woman in his arms and made quiet hushing noises in her ear. At first, her still flailing hands beat against his chest, but the hits became weaker and slower. Finally, she stopped altogether, calming down. She pressed her cheek into his chest, burying her nose into the fabric warm from his skin.

"What can't he have?" Inuyasha whispered very quietly to her, hoping she'd answer in her dream-induced state. "Souta? Shippou? You?"

Kagome just grabbed hold of his shirt and twisted the material in her closed fist. "Please, Inuyasha," she slurred, her eyes still closed tightly. "He can't have it; he can't get it," she whimpered.

With a sigh, Inuyasha gently unwrapped her fingers from his shirt and began to tuck her back into bed. She kept reaching out, clinging to him, but the dreams must have been fading, because she finally let him go. Hoping he could get some sleep now that Kagome was quiet, Inuyasha backed out of the room and ran a hand through his long hair.

Of course he wouldn't sleep, though.

Questions started to bounce around his confused mind. A part of him had always wondered what the final straw had been, the one that had finally forced Kagome to flee from Naraku. Naturally, it wasn't something he'd ever felt he could ask Kagome to answer. Now, he ached to know what it was that Naraku couldn't have, or if it had even been Naraku who Kagome had been mumbling about in her sleep. Was Kagome keeping a dangerous secret from him and his friends, the people who wanted to help her?

He didn't know.

But he swore he would soon find out.

While Inuyasha struggled to fall back asleep, deep in a closed drawer from between folds of wrapped velvet, a small item shimmered with pink light.

* * *

The beginning of dawn had started to shine beyond the tall windows of the rest of the house. Kagome was pacing in the kitchen, pulling a robe tighter around her nightgown. She'd startled awake when it was still dark out, feeling like she hadn't slept very well. Unable to fall back asleep, she had tracked down the kitchen and tried to decide how happy the others would be if she cooked everyone breakfast. It had been awhile, but cooking had once been a favorite hobby of hers. After taking stock of the kitchen, Kagome began to pull as many supplies and foodstuffs from the cabinets that she could find. Over the next hour, she cooked up a feast, making anything and everything someone might hanker for for breakfast. She set it all out on the counter, pulling some drinks from the fridge and setting the table.

"Mmm," mumbled three half-asleep children as they wandered into the kitchen, their noses in the air.

The scent of the perfect breakfast even awoke the stubborn Inuyasha and pulled the workaholic Sesshoumaru from his office.

"Let's eat!" announced Kagome as she guided everyone to the table.

Their first meal together was a very successful one.

* * *

Back in Kyoto, Naraku fiddled with the framed photograph of Kagome that was sitting on his desk. "Have you been taking care of the special _item_, Kagome?" His hands shaking with rage, he scowled and chucked the frame against the opposite wall of his office. The glass shattered and rained down on his carpet.

It was that _item_ that had taken her away from him! It was that _item_ that had made her angry with him and him with her! It was that _item _that had driven her crazy enough to leave the one man that had sworn to keep her forever!

It was that _item_ that he'd soon have back in his possession. Along with Kagome, that is.

"I'll get you back, Kagome. I'll do anything to have you back." Naraku's face darkened, and his reddish eyes glinted in the dimness of his office. "If I can't have you, Kagome, no one can."

* * *

"Damn it, Kagome!" Inuyasha grumbled, torn between being incredulous and being angry.

"Yes!" Kagome shouted triumphantly.

"_No_!" Inuyasha yelped and leaned forward on the couch to stare pathetically at the big screen television. "No," he repeated quieter with a whimper. He turned back to the smug looking Kagome who promptly held out her hand, waggling her fingers.

"Pay up!"

"No way!"

Souta, Shippou, Rin, and even Sesshoumaru watched with interest from the sidelines.

"I tried to warn you," Souta told Inuyasha sympathetically.

Kagome giggled. "I was queen of the video games back in Kyoto. No one ever beat me!"

Inuyasha pouted. "Do I have to?"

"_Yes_!" four people snapped, three from the children and one from Inuyasha's very irritated half-brother. Inuyasha whimpered and knelt before Kagome on the carpet. Looking up with the most pathetic expression he could muster, he silently pleaded with her. Kagome chuckled, but refused to back down. With an over-dramatic sigh and eye-roll, Inuyasha removed Kagome's socks and began to rub her feet, deciding that at least her feet didn't reek.

"I love foot rubs, especially when I earn them." She sighed as she leaned back into the comfy couch.

* * *

Sango smirked as she sat at the front desk of the Sakura Hide-Away shelter for abused women, passing the time by thinking about her friends.

"I wonder when Inuyasha will be thick-headed enough to bet against Kagome at video games." The brunette giggled, picturing her best friend's defeated look when he realized that Kagome could easily thrash him; it was one of the things that had come up in the girls' conversation a few days earlier. Inuyasha would just have to find out the hard way, she decided with a smirk that could rival Inuyasha's. Sango had suggested to Kagome that she should bet a foot rub if it every actually came up. Knowing Inuyasha's competitive streak, Sango had a strong feeling it actually would.

The bell hanging over the entrance tinkled as another woman walked through the front door. Sango adopted the friendliest smile she had to greet her.

"Excuse me?" the petite brunette asked Sango cheerfully.

"Yes, can I help you?" Sango asked, examining the woman. The girl seemed upbeat and entirely unlike any other new addition to the SHA she had ever seen. Sango decided that she must be there for some other reason.

The girl grinned. "I'm looking for a Miss Sango Taijai."

"That's me," Sango said cautiously, her smile slipping.

"Oh, good! Hi! I was hoping you could point me in the direction of my fiancé. I remember him saying that you were one of his best friends," the girl explained with a delighted little clap of her hands, happy that she hadn't had to look for Sango too hard.

Now, Sango's smile fell completely to be replaced only with a look of confusion. The only best friends she had that were male were Inuyasha and Miroku. _Inuyasha has a fiancée?_ she thought, amused.

The girl positively beamed. "I need to talk to Miroku Houshi as soon as possible!" she announced to the suddenly pale woman in front of her.

Sango tried to gulp in air as she heard the statement. But soon, everything went black.

**Next Chapter: Breach**


	10. Breach

Edited: 7/10/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Ten: Breach

* * *

Kagome's squeal of excitement shook the window panes. She clapped her hands together in front of her as she circled the animal in the front hall, grinning madly. "Oh my god, Inuyasha, she's gorgeous," Kagome gasped.

Inuyasha looked worriedly between the young woman and his dog. Yes, all this commotion was over his _dog_.

Sesshoumaru stuck his head out of his office and watched the scene, too. Souta and Shippou stood off to the side, looking embarrassed at how excited Kagome was getting. Rin watched curiously as her new friend, who she had dubbed 'Aunty Kag,' stared in awe at the family dog. "Does Aunty Kag like Miko?"

"Yes, Rin. I really, really do," Kagome agreed. "I've always wanted an Akita." Then, to the younger boys' humiliation, she launched into a long detailed report on Akitas. "They were originally from Japan, but in the early 1900's, Helen Keller was given one to bring back with her to America. Before that, only emperors were allowed these gorgeous animals and used them to fight bears. I can't believe this one's a girl! She's huge, about the size of a male," Kagome finished, reaching out and brushing her fingers over the long, silky white fur. When Miko sat down on her haunches and tilted her head in the woman's direction, Kagome renewed her squealing. The dog was white head-to-toe, and had warm, golden eyes. The large tail curled upwards and rested on the dog's lower back. "Miko? Odd name for a dog that is owned by two men with the last name 'Youkai,' don't you think?" Kagome asked, glancing back and forth between Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head and explained simply, "We let Rin pick out the name."

Turning to Rin with a delighted laugh, Kagome praised the girl. "Good! I love it!"

Sesshoumaru nodded Kagome and the boys forward. "Miko is protective, but kind. If she approves of you, then you are officially a part of the household," he said.

"Miko loves kids," Inuyasha told Souta and Shippou. "She'll protect any child no matter what."

To no one's surprise, the dog attached herself to Kagome's side, wagging her large tail and letting her tongue loll out of her mouth. Miko had a new best friend. Silently, Inuyasha thought that having the dog near Kagome was just another level of protection that would do everyone some good. Plus, having a dog around might make Kagome a little less stressed out and a little more friendly; in other words, he hoped it put Kagome in a better mood, one that meant she might be a little less volatile around him with that temper of hers. The longer Kagome stayed away from Naraku, the more cheerful she seemed. Inuyasha had the sneaking suspicion that this was her natural personality: happy, protective of her loved ones, stubborn, intelligent, but a little trusting and naive.

"Hey, why don't we play catch?" Kagome suggested to the boys and Rin. All the kids nodded and began to follow the woman outside, Miko trotting at their heels, but they were interrupted when Inuyasha's cell phone started ringing.

"Hang on, guys," Inuyasha said, stopping them. He was looking down at the screen of his phone, his eyebrows knitted together over his eyes in bemusement. "It's the hospital." The conversation with the person on the other end was relatively short, and when he hung up, he looked around at everyone. "Sango's in the hospital; she's asking for us," he told Kagome.

Covering up her gasp of surprise, Kagome put her fingers to her lips. Eyes wide, she asked, "Is Sango okay?"

"The nurse said she just fainted, but they're keeping her for observation for now in case she hit her head. We can go visit. Get your things," he ordered, snatching up his wallet and keys from the hall table himself. Kagome left and returned shortly, pulling the strap of her purse up over her shoulder.

"Boys, stay here," Kagome told Souta and Shippou. At Sesshoumaru's nod, which she took to mean he'd watch the children, Kagome followed Inuyasha out to his car.

The drive to the hospital was tense and silent, Kagome fiddling with her thumbs in her lap. At first, they left the radio blaring, but the noise was grating on their nerves. Inuyasha jabbed his thumb at the volume button until it was turned all the way down. Within thirty minutes, Inuyasha parked in the lot outside the hospital, and the two climbed from the car.

"Sango Taijai's room?" Kagome asked the nurse at the front desk.

"Tenth floor," she said, pointing towards the elevator bank. "Room one-thousand-twenty-four."

"Thanks," Inuyasha told her gruffly, grabbing Kagome by the elbow and steering her towards the elevator. It seemed to take the lift forever, but they finally got to the tenth floor. The two walked down the hallway slowly, peering at the numbers on each door until they found the one they were looking for. Inside, Sango was laying in the hospital bed, looking embarrassed and pale against the sheets.

For once, Kagome forgot how much she hated hospitals.

"Hey, guys," Sango greeted, her cheeks pink with humiliation. Kokaku waved at them from where he was sitting in a chair at her side.

"Sango!" Kagome shouted, rushing forward. Inuyasha followed quickly behind her. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"I fainted," the brunette explained miserably. "I can't believe I did that! This is so embarrassing. This girl showed up at the shelter, and she introduced herself as Miroku's fiancée. I guess I was so surprised that a girl would actually be attracted to him that I fainted." Sango laughed weakly at her own joke. "Thankfully the girl called an ambulance. I bumped my head on my desk, but I feel fine."

"Can I get you anything?" Kagome asked, smoothing her hand down the sheets in a fussing manner.

"Some tea, please?"

"Of course," the younger girl told her with a crinkling smile. She glanced at Inuyasha, who looked worried, but he shook his head. He didn't want anything. "I'll be right back."

Kagome excused herself and left the room. Once she was in the crowded hallway, she decided that a few extra minutes out of her way wouldn't be noticed, and she made her way to the fourth floor. Finding a the room she was looking for, Kagome entered after a quick knock.

"Kouga?"

Looking like someone had just brought him the largest teddy bear in existence, Kouga's brightened up at the sight of her. "Kagome!"

Dragging a chair over to his bed, Kagome perched on the end of it with a relieved smile. "You look a lot better," she told him sincerely.

Kouga chuckled and smiled back at her. "Of course I do," he explained with a confident waggle of his eyebrows. "Nothing can keep me down for too long." A beat passed as the two friends looked at one another, but then Kouga's expression darkened significantly. "Have you seen him again?" he asked, very serious.

Mirroring his mood, Kagome shook her head in a few quick jerks. "No. Yesterday, the boys and I moved into a new friend's house. It has better security, and it's an unlisted home. Naraku can't know that much about my new life in Tokyo yet, so we think I'll be pretty safe there for awhile."

Kouga opened his mouth to respond when his door suddenly banged open. Inuyasha stalked into the room looking murderous. "Kagome! Where did you go? You scared the shit out of us when you didn't come back right away!" he growled.

Scowling at Inuyasha's interference, Kouga started to tell the other man off. He stopped, however, when he felt Kagome grab his hand and give it a squeeze.

"Tell Sango I'm sorry, please," Kagome said softly, looking a little guilty. "I wanted to check in on Kouga, and I didn't think you guys would notice if I took a little bit longer."

Inuyasha frowned, trying to get a handle on his anger. He'd been even more emotional after he realized how his heart skipped a beat when he left Sango's room and rounded the corner, only to find the vending machine area empty with Kagome nowhere in sight. The idea that he was really that concerned about her was irritating. The only reason he had been able to find Kagome was because a nurse had recognized Kagome from her earlier visit and had ridden the elevator down with her to the floor with Kouga's room.

Kagome went back to her conversation with Kouga, ignoring Inuyasha's presence in the room.

"We need to go, Kagome," Inuyasha muttered. To everyone's annoyance, he sent Kouga a distrustful look. He just didn't like the other man, especially since he was reportedly supposed to be in Kyoto covering up Kagome's tracks. Instead, he was in Tokyo, talking to Kagome in public. Couldn't Naraku track her down through him? In fact, he didn't even understand why Kouga was in the hospital and looking so beat up. Kagome hadn't said a word to him or anyone else.

"Look, can't you give us a few minutes?" Kouga snapped. "Me and Kagome need to catch up, and I need to make sure she's safe. Naraku did this to me," he muttered, gesturing at his scrapes and bruises with a disgusted look on his face. "I want to make sure he can't do the same to her."

Inuyasha growled low in his throat in frustration, sounding like a threatened dog. "Kagome needs to make sure our friend is okay; don't be so possessive!"

Kagome rolled her eyes at the ridiculous argument taking place right before her eyes. "Inuyasha," she started, giving him a determined glare and gesturing at the hospital room door. "Kouga's hurt, and I don't need you making it any worse. He's my friend, and I want to talk with him for a little bit longer. He went up against Naraku for me, to help keep me safe!"

Inuyasha blanched at Kagome's words. "You'd rather stay with him than Sango?"

"No," Kagome answered simply, shaking her head earnestly. "Kouga needs me more right now, I'll talk to Sango in a few minutes. You heard her; she said she was fine." With that, she turned back to the brown-haired man and picked up their conversation where they'd left off, completely blocking out the fuming man behind her.

Inuyasha threw up his hands and stomped out the door. "Fine," he mumbled. "I'll wait for you out here."

Outside Kouga's room, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms stubbornly. He waited for Kagome, and to pass the time, he watched the people walking by him. The building was busy; nurses, doctors, patients, and visitors swarmed the hallway, causing a hushed clatter of voices. Finally, several minutes later, Kagome left the room and joined him outside.

"Let's go get that tea I promised Sango," she said, smiling up at Inuyasha as nicely as she could. She wanted a truce with him.

"Sounds good," he said, starting for the elevators. "The machines are right down the hall from her room."

They grabbed several cups of tea and balanced them carefully as they walked back into Sango's room. Barely after handing the drinks out, Miroku rushed into the room looking frantic. "Sango!" he shouted, running her hands down her arms and legs as if checking for injuries. Following closely at his heels was a woman that Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kohaku had never seen before, but Sango sure had. It was the pretty young brunette who had surprised her back at the shelter.

She wrapped her arms around Miroku's torso and clung to him, looking up with big, brown eyes. "Miroku! Oh, I've missed you so much!" Irritated, the man tried to pry her arms from around him, but the girl wouldn't budge. "When's the wedding?" she asked him, smiling.

Miroku stiffened, stunned, and the other occupants looked on, all amused except for Sango (who just looked sick to her stomach). "What wedding?" he asked nervously, maybe even terrified.

"The wedding I was promised," the girl answered, oblivious to his surprise. "Oh, Miroku! Don't tell me you were silly enough to forget our wedding? It's been set up since I was eleven, and you were fifteen!"

Understanding brightened his dark eyes. "Koharu Furuto?"

"Of course!" Koharu answered, finally starting to get that maybe not everyone understood the situation as well as she had expected them to.

If possible, Sango became even paler. A large part of her hadn't really believed Miroku was engaged, but now that she knew he recognized the young woman, her stomach leaped to her throat. "Out!" she roared to Miroku and his fiancée. "I can't believe you would never tell me, _us_, that you were engaged to someone. Your own best friends!" she shouted before she could help herself, tears brimming in her eyes.

Miroku opened his mouth to explain, ask forgiveness, say anything to make Sango feel better, but she jabbed her finger at the door and clamped her jaw shut. With one last glance at the glare of hatred Sango was giving him, Miroku weakly walked out the door, Koharu still hanging off his arm. Nervously, Kagome glanced at Inuyasha and Kohaku, who were both stunned into silence. To their collected horror, Sango's lip began trembling, as though she would begin sobbing at any time.

"Why don't you give me and Sango some girl time?" Kagome suggested to Inuyasha, tilting her head in Kohaku's direction. With the threat of tears hanging over him, Inuyasha scrambled to usher Kohaku from the room. Women crying was one of his biggest fears.

"See you back at my house?" Inuyasha asked from the doorway, glancing back at Kagome with an almost respectful expression. "I mean, our house?"

"Sure," she promised warmly, waving her hand in a shooing motion. "Shut the door behind you on your way out." Once the guys were gone, Kagome walked slowly to Sango's bed. Without saying anything, she perched on Kohaku's vacated chair and looked thoughtful for several minutes. When Sango sifted to a sitting position, Kagome reached over and began to draw soft, soothing circles on the older girl's back. "Hey, Sango. Let's get out of here; I know exactly what we can do."

Sango looked at her with hurt filled eyes, and Kagome immediately winced. For once, she wasn't happy to be right. Her earlier suspicion that Sango had feelings beyond friendship for Miroku had been confirmed, and that was exactly what was hurting the brunette so much at the moment. Kagome forced the most cheerful smile she could muster onto her face and helped Sango get to her feet. With Kagome's help, Sango got out of the hospital gown and back into her street clothes. Some gentle prodding finally got Sango out the door.

Half an hour later, Sango looked downright cheerful, all her sadness forgotten.

"Oh, Kagome! Thank you! How'd you know?" Sango gasped, staring down at a small ball of fur nestled in her arms.

"Woman's intuition?" Kagome suggested with a laugh, paying the cashier at the pet shop.

Sango examined the small cat, which was mostly white but with black markings around her face and on her tail. The feline mewled happily and snuggled against her new owner's chest, purring like a small car with happiness. "I don't know what to name her!" Sango exclaimed.

The two women left the pet store and started in the direction of an ice cream parlor just down the street. Kagome started to list off random names, but Sango shook her head at each one. They paid for three cones of ice cream, including a small vanilla one for the cat to lick. They sat down on a bench along the street, continuing to discuss name options.

"How about one that goes with your name? You know, a sea one, for 'coral'?" Kagome asked, referencing the meaning of the name Sango.

Sango shook her head. "I don't know. I think I want a name for her that doesn't mean anything specific." The two girls sat quietly as they thought, the cat curling up in Sango's lap and kneading her thighs with her little paws. "Kasumi?" Sango suggested out loud, but then shook her head, dismissing the choice immediately. Finally, she said, "Kirara?"

Kagome smiled widely. "Perfect."

Sango nodded her head resolutely. "I can't believe I have a cat."

With a chuckle, Kagome turned back to her ice cream.

* * *

After Kagome refused to cook another meal, the group decided to go out for dinner. Inuyasha and Kagome spent half an hour corralling the three kids and getting them settled in Sesshoumaru's SUV, and the elder Youkai brother appeared right after they were done, having done none of the work himself. Once at the restaurant, the group took over several tables and had a very loud, boisterous dinner. Except, of course, Sesshoumaru, who said very few words over the course of the meal.

"I'm going to go to the little girls' room," Kagome excused herself politely, standing up. Everyone nodded, his or her mouth too full of expensive food to answer. Winding her way around the other tables, waiters, and customers, she finally found a long, dark hallway in the back of the restaurant that had a sign directing people to the bathrooms. She made her way towards a thick oak door marked 'ladies.'

The hallway was completely deserted and shadowed almost foreboding, but in her content mood, she failed to find the atmosphere threatening. After scrubbing her hands clean, Kagome stepped back to study herself in the mirror. She was wearing an expensive blue dress, one that Inuyasha insisted she change into when she tried to leave the house in jeans and a t-shirt. Now, she smoothed the wrinkles out of the sleeves of the cardigan she had thrown over it. Kagome actually smiled at her appearance, reapplying her lip gloss and brushing her hair with a small comb she produced from her purse.

Walking out of the restroom, Kagome closed the door silently behind her and started to walk back to her table.

Stepping smoothly from the shadows, a young man came up behind the startled woman and wrapped his arms tightly around her slim waist. "Hello, Kagome," Naraku breathed into her ear.

On the other side of the restaurant, Inuyasha frowned as the waitress took away their empty bowls, except for Kagome's still full one. "What's taking her so long?" he demanded of Sesshoumaru, who stared passively back at him as though it was completely obvious how stupid it was for his half-brother to ask him that. "I'll go find her," Inuyasha muttered, standing up.

Walking towards the hallway that led to the bathrooms, Inuyasha rounded a corner and into the alcove right before it; he paused in shock at the sight in front of him.

Kagome stiffened at the man's touch, closing her eyes fearfully. "Naraku?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes, Kagome, it's me."

"What are you d-doing here?" Kagome tried, and failed, to keep her voice steady. Her stutter made her flinch, ashamed.

"To get back what's mine," he whispered as he ran his hand up and down her side before it came to a rest at her hip.

Kagome suddenly had the unbearable urge to whip around and slap him for assuming he owned her like a possession, which surprised her. It even _scared _her. She had never before wanted to hurt the young male standing behind her. Not once had she felt like hitting him, no matter how many times Naraku had risen his hand against her. _I deserve it, he doesn't!_ she had to remind herself fervently, the smallest doubt niggling at her brain.

Finally, Kagome was starting to realize that maybe, just maybe, she didn't deserve to be hurt by the man she loved. Almost immediately, she discarded that idea. Naraku's abuse had become so ingrained in her mind, that it was difficult to remember any other reality.

While Kagome struggled with her reaction to his presence, Naraku stroked her arm with his finger, gently kissing her cheek and nuzzling her neck. "Come on, Kagome, let's go home," he pleaded, nibbling her ear.

These signs of affection, she realized, no longer pleased her. They were actually freaking her out, now. It was _disgusting_ her. His touch on her skin sickened her, making her stomach turn over with nausea. Still, Kagome couldn't move; she couldn't step away and run to someone who would help her. She couldn't run to Inuyasha.

"Kagome?" Naraku asked, pulling her against his chest.

But Kagome said nothing, lost in her thoughts of running to Inuyasha, to safety. He was so close, she thought; right there in that very building. As if summoned by her thoughts, Kagome saw him turn into the hallway and stumble to a stop, staring at her and Naraku. She watched his mouth turn down in a fierce scowl, his hands closing into tight fists at his sides. Kagome watched him look at her, register her fear, and become very angry.

**Next Chapter: Perfect**


	11. Perfect

Edited: 7/12/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Eleven: Perfect

* * *

Kagome's eyes met and held Inuyasha's as Naraku nuzzled her neck again, sending shivers down her spine. Two years ago, that same action would have seemed romantic and exciting, but now it had begun to disgust her. At that very moment, to Kagome's very great surprise, she would have given absolutely anything to be out of Naraku's and into Inuyasha's—because at the moment, anyone else's embrace would offer the safety and comfort she desperately needed at that moment.

As their eye contact broke the spell holding Inuyasha in place, he took an angry step forward. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, eyes narrowed on Naraku.

The other man finally glanced up from Kagome, his dark eyes glinting over her shoulder. "Who are you?" he asked, a smirk shaping his lips.

"I'm Kagome's friend," Inuyasha answered without hesitation, a declaration that almost startled Kagome enough to make her smile despite her current distressing position.

Immediately, Naraku's smirk was replaced with a scowl. "Kagome doesn't need friend," he snapped. "She has me." One of his arms held her tighter against him while with the other, he raised his hand and grabbed her chin. Naraku forcefully jerked her face over her shoulder and brought his lips down on hers. Hard. With every passing second, Kagome could feel her lips bruise with the unwanted contact. Finally, Naraku let her go and began to walk backwards with a sinister smile towards the back door of the restaurant. "I'll be watching Kagome," he warned her threateningly. "I'll be waiting for you and your _gift_."

And then Naraku was gone.

As soon as he was out of sight, Inuyasha strode forward to Kagome's side, his hands fisted tightly at his sides. Forgetting all their arguments, Kagome threw herself into his chest and wrapped her arms around him, hiding her face in his shirt. Still, he saw the hurt and fear written all over her face. Swallowing hard, the woman ran over the entire scene in her mind; it had only taken three or four minutes, but it had felt like a lifetime. Suddenly, tears pricked her eyes, and she buried her face deeper into her friend's chest, fighting to smother her sobs.

For the past several years, Naraku had been Kagome's whole world—other than Souta and Shippou, of course. Up until that point, all she'd really wanted was to find a way to fix things with him. To stay by Naraku's side forever in a loving relationship had seemed like happiness to her, but now it was starting to really dawn on her the many obstacles in the way of that dream. Not only was she beginning to realize just how sick Naraku had been, how unlike it was to convince him to seek anger management and stop taking his frustration out on Kagome, but she was also aware that she had other options. Knowing what life was like with Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and even Sesshoumaru, Kagome could see an entirely different life available to her.

There were so many different kinds of love a person could experience, and Kagome was only just now thinking that maybe—possibly—what she felt with Naraku was not love. With Souta and Shippou, she felt loved; with Naraku, it was something different.

Kagome felt a strong arm wrap around her lower back and a hand start to pat the back of her crying head. Their close contact had ignited a blush in Inuyasha's cheeks, and he had to fight hard against his rising frustration in order to not throw questions at Kagome. He wanted to know everything that had just happened between her and Naraku, but it would only make her feel worse. It didn't help the situation that crying women terrified the businessman.

Realizing their compromising position, Kagome disentangled their limbs and pushed away, returning immediately to the ladies' room. Opening his mouth but finding nothing to say, Inuyasha watched the door close behind her and leaned against the wall to wait. It only took Kagome to splash some cold water on her face and fix her hair and makeup. With one last look at herself in the mirror, disgusted with the confusion and fear she saw lingering in her own eyes, Kagome went back out into the hallway.

Silently, Inuyasha guided her back to the table, his eyes searching the restaurant alertly.

Souta grinned when they came into view; he had one hand laid on his full stomach, feeling content after the large, expensive meal he'd just eaten. "What took you so long?"

"I fell in," Kagome mumbled weakly, taking her seat. Shippou immediately bounced into her lap, and all three children giggled at Kagome's joke.

Over Kagome's head, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's eyes met. The elder Youkai man recognized the anger radiating off his younger half-brother, but he thought it prudent to not ask about what had just happened while in front of the children, no matter how piqued his curiosity was. Inuyasha shook his head slowly, trying to indicate that he'd explain later.

The group gathered their things and headed home, and thankfully, no one else noticed that Kagome didn't say a thing the rest of the evening.

The next day, the end of the weekend, Kagome went into a room with Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and Sesshoumaru and explained what happened in a very still voice. Although shocked, they all agreed that there wasn't anything they could do about it at the moment. After some discussion, they decided that someone needed to be with Kagome at all times.

Kagome second week passed without incident, although each day found her more distracted and distant.

None of her coworkers noticed, however, since the annual corporate party was imminent. Everyone was too busy gossiping and bustling about. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha, although concerned, were too occupied with closing business deal and organizing the party to say anything to her. Inuyasha, especially, was having a difficult time of it—it was his year to choose a theme, and he had yet to do so.

Worse yet, everyone thought they had the best idea and insisted on telling Inuyasha about it.

"Comment est-ce que une boeum francaise?" Nazuna, the waitress from the nearby diner, asked as she laid the food she was delivering onto Inuyasha's desk.

"What?" Inuyasha asked, dumbfounded.

Nazuna rolled her eyes and smacked her gum. "I asked, roughly, 'How about a French party?'."

"Nazuna, we're Japanese, not French," Inuyasha pointed out snappishly, gripping his sandwich too tight; its innards started to spill out all over the plate.

The brunette shrugged. "Whatever. _I_ thought it was a good idea." She then waltzed out the door, still chewing her gum without a car in the world.

Later that day, Ayame wandered into his office. "Animals?" the redhead suggested. She was wearing a somewhat hideous sweater with a wolf emblazoned across the chest. Ever since Inuyasha had run into her when she took Kagome out to lunch—and then to the hospital—it was as though they were friend; the businessman had to keep reminding her that she was his _employee_. Ayame didn't seem to care.

"No," Inuyasha countered simply, pointing at the door.

"Fine, whatever," the redhead grumbled with a huff, stomping out of his office.

When it was almost time to go, Inuyasha found himself sharing the elevator with a young man he only vaguely remembered seeing before.

"How about the power of love?" the employee (it was actually Hojo) recommended dreamily. He was thinking of a certain girl whose name began with a "K-" and ended with an "-agome."

"How about _no_," the boss growled, storming from the elevator as soon as the doors opened, even though it wasn't his stop.

Inuyasha sighed dramatically as soon as he found himself alone for the first time that day; it was Friday, the party was in two days, and no one had supplied him with a good enough idea for him to steal. Sesshoumaru had, naturally, taken over all the difficult tasks, and the food, drinks, and decorations were already bought and in place. All that was left was for Inuyasha to choose a theme so that everyone could go out and pick their costumes.

He was really cutting it close.

To Inuyasha's incredible surprise and slight irritation, Kagome tracked him down.

"I'm not even going to ask why you're hiding in a cubicle on the thirty-ninth floor instead of at your desk," she muttered, handing him a file.

"Hey, Kagome," Inuyasha began, thoughtfully, not even taking the file from her so instead she kept holding it out to the point when it became awkward, and she finally retracted her hand. "What do you think the theme for the party should be?" The fact that he was asking her for her opinion proved just how defeated he really was.

It took her a minute, but finally Kagome suggested, "How about the Feudal Era?"

"Perfect."

* * *

On the day of the parting, Inuyasha stood off by himself in the corner surveying the crowd. He was thinking about his earlier phone conversation with his best friend.

(_"Miroku," Inuyasha had started with a hint of warning in his voice._

_"Don't worry, for the moment I have the whole fiancée thing under control!" Miroku exclaimed immediately, cutting off the other man before he could continue. He sounded very obviously proud of himself. "I'll be coming to the party, and Kaharu will stay home."_

_"Good; I don't want Sango moping around. There's only so much alcohol can do."_

_Miroku rolled his eyes on the other end of the phone line, glad his friend couldn't see him. "Yes, sir."_)

So far, everything was going as planned. People were eating, drinking, dancing, and laughing. It was actually a great party until Sesshoumaru walked over to stand at his half-brother's side. The elder Youkai was wearing a white silk outfit with old-fashioned battle armor on top, something a feudal lord ancestor of theirs had worn in the past. For the party, Inuyasha had dyed his hair silver and was wearing gold contacts. For the first time in their lives, the half-brothers looked like they could be full-blooded siblings. He was dressed all in red, the eye-catching outfit demanding the attention of everyone in the room.

All of their employees were crowding the ball room, having fun dressed in kimonos and peasant's clothes, ones probably passed down by their ancestors. Thankfully, even though Inuyasha had taken his sweet time picking a theme, it looks as if people were able to find costumes quickly and without difficulty. Spirits ran high as everyone let loose, enjoying the food and alcohol.

On the other side of the room, Sango and Miroku finally arrived. Miroku was wearing black and purple monk's robes, accessorized by a long, gold staff; he'd inherited the outfit from his father, who had received it from his father before him, and so on through the centuries. Meanwhile, Sango was in a skintight black pantsuit with bright pink, floral patterned armor. Her long hair was pulled away from her face, and she highlighted her eyes with vibrant magenta eye shadow. At her side was a katana that Inuyasha had no doubt was actually real, and from her purse, Kirara—her new kitten—was peeking out.

Seemingly back on good terms, Sango and Miroku walked side-by-side to Inuyasha.

While the three best friends began to chat, in a room off to the side of the Inutaisho Company's lobby, where the party was being held, Kagome cracked open a door to peer through. She studied all the party-goers and felt self-conscious, her bad mood hanging like a cloud over her head. It had seemed like a good, fun idea at first, but now all Kagome could think about was how distant she'd been to everyone lately. Did anyone even want to talk to her?

Coaching her breathing to a steady, calming rate, Kagome opened the door fully and tried to creep in unnoticed. Unfortunately, Hojo was standing right next to where she entered.

"Hey, Kagome!" he greeted very loudly, slurring his words together in a drunken haste.

Quite a few people around the room turned to greet their friendly colleague, everyone happy to find out she'd joined them. Most, if not all of them, were pleasantly surprised to find her dressed attractively in shrine maiden's robes. The red and white priestess uniform accentuated her slim waist and set off her dark hair and pale complexion nicely. All around her, slightly tipsy young men nudged each other and openly admired Kagome.

Immediately, Kagome blushed and excused herself from the group of coworkers who had circled around her at her arrival. Thankfully, Sango was nearby, getting herself a cup of punch. It would later become obvious that the punch was spiked and partially responsible for how drunk many of the employees were becoming.

"Hey, Kagome," Sango greeted her new friend warmly. The only hint that she'd been drinking was a slight tint to her cheeks. "You look really pretty as a priestess."

"Thanks. You look great!" Kagome complimented. "A demon slayer, right?"

"Right," Sango admitted. "Legend says my family is descended from demon slayers."

"Welcome, Lady Kagome," Miroku said grandly with a sweeping bow, interrupting the two women.

Laughing, Kagome dropped into a deep bow, her problems momentarily shoved to the side. "Good evening, Miroku! You look very dashing."

Suddenly, the room went hushed when the crackle of a microphone was heard from the front stage.

"Excuse me," said an emotionless drawl. Everyone looked to Sesshoumaru. Now that attention had been gained, his job was done, and Inuyasha took over. He grabbed the microphone from his half-brother's hand, ignoring the elder Youkai's look of disgust.

"It's time for my favorite part of the night!" Inuyasha announced with a boyish smirk. "Gifts!"

"Gifts?" echoed Ayame from somewhere in the room; she wasn't the only confused one. Employees around the room looked at one another, quirking their eyebrows and frowning in befuddled ways.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, silently suggesting that everyone should always know exactly what he was talking about without explanation. "Of course gifts! My secretary went shopping for each of you yesterday. Isn't that right, Ms. Shashu?"

"Yeah, and my feet are _still_ killing me!" Kagome called out from where she stood with Miroku and Sango. The audience erupted into laughter.

With a wide grin, Inuyasha tore a sheet off a giant mound of presents on top of the stage. The theory was that giving gifts to the employees would keep morale high. It would work, because, well, who doesn't like free stuff? Everyone launched themselves towards the pile.

Kagome picked her way through the crowd to find four packages, ones she had carefully set off to the side for easy finding later. It took ages to weave her way back to the food table, but she finally got within reach of Sango and Miroku. With a pleases smile, the secretary handed them each a wrapped box. "Here you go!"

Sango turned wide eyes on her. "We're not employees! We still get presents?"

"Of course you do! You're friends with the boss as well as his _extremely_ generous secretary." Kagome motioned for them to open up the boxes.

Sango pulled out her gift first. It was a mask used in the feudal era to keep poison from entering a person's lungs. "Wow," she breathed excitedly, immediately trying it on. It completed her outfit perfectly.

Kagome laughed, delighted. "I knew you'd like it! I passed by it in the window of an antiques shop. The story is that it's an actual mask that was once used by a young female assassin during the Era of Warring States. I saw your collection of weapons when I was staying with you, so I bought this for you."

Happy, Sango smiled back at her friend. However, since she was wearing the mask, no one could see the smile. Belatedly realizing this, the brunette bobbed her head in a rapid, excited nod.

As Miroku opened his box, he asked, "Now what could you have possibly gotten for me?" He pulled out a purple glove that matched his monk robes perfectly. Putting it on, he studied it carefully. The cloth wrapped around his entire arm almost up to his elbow with extra cloth that laid over the palm and back of his hand, held to his middle finger by a gold ring.

There was a crinkle of paper as Kagome reached into the box that Miroku had set down. She retrieved a set of white prayer beads that he'd overlooked and handed them to Miroku, draping them around the gloved hand. "There you go!" she announced triumphantly. "I got these at the same place as I got Sango's mask. Apparently a young monk owned these; the glove was specially designed to hide a scar he had on the palm of his hand."

"Thanks, Kagome," Miroku told her sincerely.

"Hey, I'm just happy you guys like them. Hang on; it's my bosses' turns next," Kagome said, grabbing the remaining two boxes and leaving her friends to track down Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. The two gifts were very long, thin boxes, so she tucked one under each arm and started to navigate he way through the crowd, passing other employees as they showed one another nice things Kagome had picked out in mass quantities: fancy pens, silken handkerchiefs, and pocket watches, just to name a few.

"Mr. Youkai," Kagome greeted her elder boss with a nod. "Your gift."

Sesshoumaru took the box carefully, unwrapping the package with slow, deliberate motions. He pulled out a katana— a very expensive, well-crafted katana.

"Tensaiga. It belonged to a great worrier; it's called the Sword of Healing," Kagome explained with a smile.

"Healing?" Sesshoumaru asked pulling the blade out of its mahogany sheath to reveal metal shined to perfection. "Why would someone want a sword of healing, not one for destruction?"

Kagome frowned at his obvious I'd-rather-kill-than-save attitude. "The worrier used the sword to protect his loved ones, not to kill his enemies."

Sesshoumaru nodded to show his acceptance and slid the katana into the belt of his costume's armor.

Inuyasha saw this as his turn, and he eagerly ripped into his box. Inside was another katana with the same sleek mahogany sheath, but an old, damaged hilt. When he pulled the blade out, he saw how it was heavily chipped. "…What?"

Patiently, Kagome's smile grew. "I always loved the Tetsusaiga; it has _personality_. It is the Tensaiga's twin, and the warrior's brother wielded it. Tetsusaiga spent more time hacking down enemies than protecting anyone, and that's why it looks like it has seen better days. These were in an antique dealer's private collection. I read about them back at the shrine, where I grew up, and I knew the current owner was here in Tokyo somewhere."

The longer Inuyasha held his sword, the more he liked it, despite its obvious age and abuse.

"Oh!" Kagome said suddenly, grabbing Inuyasha's seemingly empty box and digging through it. "One more thing. I felt bad that Sesshoumaru got a better looking sword, so I grabbed this!" She triumphantly held up a necklace with maroon beads and fangs adorning it.

Inuyasha took it hesitantly and put it on. He felt like he shouldn't be happy to see it, but he had no real reason to feel that way. "Do you have a story for this thing, too?" he asked.

Kagome shook her head. "Not that I could find. All that I know is that it belonged to an old priestess." She hesitated, biting her lip. The celebratory atmosphere felt great, and she felt a million times lighter than she had all week. The good mood made her want to share something about herself, a little piece of her past. "I loved growing up on a shrine; it meant that I got to learned a ton of legends and see all kinds of artifacts."

It was at that time that Sango and Miroku joined them. Sesshoumaru excused himself while the friends started to talk happily, managing to ignore everyone around them getting plastered.

Elsewhere in the city, a man named Juuroumaru sighed as he studied an entire wall of television screens. On each screen was footage from a different camera placed somewhere in Tokyo. One that drew his attention was what looked like a wild party on the ground floor of a large office building downtown. What caught his eyes was that right in the middle of it all was a gorgeous woman dressed in priestess robes; a woman who looked exactly like the one in the photo sitting on his desk.

Kagome Higurashi: the woman he'd been ordered to locate. A week earlier, Naraku had demanded that Juuroumaru hack into security systems all over the city and track down his girlfriend.

After double-checking the photograph to confirm that it really was Kagome, he picked up the phone and dialed Kagura, his sister. "I found her," he reported as soon as she picked up the phone, immediately rattling off the details of the missing woman's location.

"That's… _wonderful _news," Kagura responded sarcastically with a despondent sigh, disgusted with the fact that Naraku had dragged her brother into the mess in addition to herself and Kanna. "I'll report it to Naraku. He'll want to know where Kagome is."

Juuroumaru ran a hand through his dyed purple hair, a remnant of his delinquent past. His jail time from when he was a teenager was what Naraku had blackmailed him with in order to get him to do his dirty work in the first place; Juuroumaru's boss had no idea that his employee was an ex-juvenile delinquent, since those records had been sealed when he'd reached adulthood. Unfortunately, if his boss found out, he'd probably lose his job. "Good luck with that. Please, be careful Kagura."

Now that his part was done he could go back to doing his actual job. Teaching a computers class at a junior high school.

* * *

On her end of the line, Kagura glared at her cell phone, the very idea of dialing Naraku's number turning her stomach. As soon as she'd hung up with her brother, she'd gone on the internet to research the building he'd spotted Kagome at. The official website listed the owners of the company and even had an employee database with names available to search. Juuroumaru would hopefully be free to go back to his life; and so far, fortunately, Kanna had been kept at arm's length from the mess. That left Kagura, the only one of the siblings full enmeshed in Naraku's pathetic, illegal, illicit little world.

"I'm quitting as soon as this is over, Naraku!" she growled, finally punching in the numbers on her keypad. Once everything was over, for good or for bad, Kagura was going to find a real job—one that had nothing to do with murder, drugs, or thievery.

"What is it?" Naraku asked without as much as a 'hello' when he answered her call.

"Juuroumaru located Kagome. She was at an office party for the Inutaisho Company in downtown Tokyo."

"She has a _job_?" Naraku clarified with a dark chuckle. "At least we know she is doing alright for herself on her own; it leaves me with room to worry about other things. You will track her until I'm ready to make my move."

"Yes, _sir_," his lackey responded snidely.

"What else can you tell me?"

"I… It's owned by Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru Youkai. There was one Kagome listed in the employee database: Kagome _Shashu_. I think that might be her alias."

"You're so useful," Kagura's boss responded before promptly hanging up, much to her irritation. What she didn't know was that even now, Naraku was planning on how to dispose of her after the dust hd settled, after he had Kagome back in his possession. She knew too much.

* * *

"Mom?" a little boy whispered as he pushed open the bedroom door.

"Yes, Shippou?" Kagome answered groggily.

"I had a nightmare; can I sleep in here?" Shippou asked with a whimper.

Kagome smiled and nodded drowsily, lifting up the sheets. The boy crawled in next to her and curled up next to her chest, radiating warmth. "Thank you," he whispered as he drifted back to sleep, feeling safe in his mother's embrace.

Kagome fell asleep that night with a smile on her face having decided that that was definitely one type of love—a love a parent had for her child. She could figure the rest out in the morning.

**Next Chapter: The Getaway**


	12. The Getaway

You are all about to finally understand how much more there is to this plot than just Naraku beating Kagome and she leaving him because of it.

Edited: 7/13/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Twelve: The Getaway

* * *

It was a very still and quiet night. Kagome woke with a start, her heart racing and beating hard against her chest. At first, she struggled to remember where she was and why she was there; to remember that she was safe. Moonlight glowed softly behind the shades covering the large window in her bedroom, reminding her that she should be sound asleep. With a sigh, she crawled from her bed and came to the window, lifting the shades until light poured in. Once she could see the moon, Kagome dragged over an armchair and curled up in it; she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Thoughtful blue eyes scoured the sky as she calculated in her head.

She had been in Tokyo for two weeks.

Kagome shook her head roughly, trying to force the bad memories away. They crowded around her tighter, suffocating her in the nighttime. It felt like everything—_everything_—had begun two weeks ago, on that awful Sunday, but if she were to be honest with herself, her life hadn't been good for a long time. It was only on that Sunday that she'd finally made the decision to change her future. Hopefully for the better, but that remained to be seen.

A sigh escaped her lips. It had been—still was—difficult to keep her emotions straight. Just living a day-to-day existence was hard, and Kagome struggled to keep her act together around her new friends. Acting cheerful didn't come as naturally as it once did. Sometimes, she was just so angry that she lashed out. More often, she was just so scared that she wanted to crawl inside herself and hide there until the end of the world.

Unable to fight it anymore, Kagome's thoughts drifted to the event that had happened two weeks earlier that had been the catalyst for everything that had followed.

_An annoying, constant beeping filled the room as an alarm clock vibrated across the side table. A slim hand slithered out from between the covers and whacked the alarm clock mercilessly until the infernal beeping stopped._

_"It's too early on a Sunday," a groggy female voice growled from beneath a pile of pillows and blankets. Crawling out from her warm nest, Kagome stretched and heard several audible, satisfying cracks as her joints popped. _

_Tip-toeing on slender bare feet, the young woman made her way down the hall to the large bathroom to take a steamy shower. Wiping down the clouded mirror, Kagome took a long look at her creamy skin. No scars had formed from the "accidents," and Naraku hadn't touched her for weeks. There wasn't a single bruise anywhere on her._

_It didn't take long for her to get dressed. Feeling like that day was going to be a great day, she slipped into an emerald pencil skirt and her favorite white blouse. A glance in the mirror told her that the outfit she'd chosen was flattering, and it made her look mature and sophisticated. She slid on some black high-heeled shoes and collected her still-damp hair into a low ponytail at the base of her neck. Brushing on some quick mascara and lip-gloss, Kagome set out to do the impossible._

_"Souta! Wake up and get dressed, lazy bones. We leave in ten minutes." Hearing a groan of anger from the lump under the covers and taking that as a sign that her brother was awake, she moved on to wake up her adopted son._

_As she turned the corner into his room, Kagome was surprised to find the boy already dressed and ready to go. "Morning, Mom!" he chirped, bouncing on the bed in excitement. _

_"Good morning! Hey, do me a favor?" At his agreeable nod, Kagome said sweetly, "Will you go make sure Souta stays awake and gets ready, please?" _

_"Aye, aye, captain!" Shippou announced with a salute and scuttled out to do his mother's bidding._

_Sighing, Kagome descended the staircase to make some good, old- fashioned coffee to force her brain cells awake, still a little groggy. The phone rang shrilly, startling her enough that Kagome spilled coffee on the counter. Wiping it down hurriedly, and wondering who would call so early on a Sunday morning, Kagome reached to answer it. "Hello?"_

_"Kagome," someone said without greeting her back. It was a feminine voice, a very familiar drawl, but Kagome couldn't place it. "You can't keep this up."_

_"What?" she asked, very confused, scouring her mind to identify the owner of the voice. _

_"You know this isn't right," the woman continued, hushed as though someone might be eavesdropping from the next room. "Not for you or the boys."_

_"Who is this?" Kagome demanded sharply, spinning around on her heel to scan the room, as if caller was in the room with her. She was, of course, alone._

_"Who is this?" the voice echoed. "Your last warning… before it's too late. Listen to me and get out of here!"_

_Suddenly, there was a man's voice in the background of the phone call followed quickly by the dry click of the caller hanging up and then the drone of the dial-tone. Kagome chewed her lip and pondered the situation, wondering just how worried and suspicious she should be. Having no solid explanation for the call, Kagome decided that it had to have been a wrong number. After all, there had to be several other Kagomes in a city as large as Kyoto, right?_

_Ten minutes later, Kagome, Souta, and Shippou climbed into Kagome's green Lexus just as the horizon began to lighten with the rising sun in the distance. Zooming along, they arrived at the company in downtown Kyoto quickly; because of the early hour, Kagome easily found a parking space right outside the entrance._

_"Where are we going?" Shippou asked, crawling out of the backseat after Souta._

_"To pick up Naraku, so we can go to the zoo!" Kagome answered in an overly-chipper tone, fighting to overcome the sleep still clouding her voice. The phone call that morning has set her on edge, but not enough to wake her all the way up._

_Shippou's eyes shined at the mention of the zoo; he'd always liked the foxes._

_Riding the elevator the fourth floor, they entered the area where Naraku's small company was set up; it only used four rooms on the entire floor. Kagome left the boys by the elevator bank and instructed them to keep quiet while she went ahead to find her boyfriend. Kagome walked quietly, thankful that the carpet muffled the sound of her heels, in order to surprise her "better half." Stepping through Kagura's office, Kagome peeked through the crack in the doorway that led to Naraku's office._

_Inside were several arguing men and one woman: Kagura herself._

_The tension that filled the room was unsettling, and Kagome was fairly certain that she wasn't interrupting a regular business meeting. Part of her wanted to turn back and gather up her brother and Shippou, taking them to the zoo by herself, but she was too curious to walk away without listening in just a little bit. Naraku had never been very open and talkative about his company, so it seemed like a good chance to get an idea of what exactly her boyfriend did for a living. _

_"I'll pay no more than I promised," Naraku's calm voice penetrated the yelling. When silence descended on the room, it seemed eerie after all the shouting. Although his voice was calm, it also sounded dangerous. As Kagome watched, Naraku held up his left hand—and secured between two of his fingers was a very large jewel. It was a cloudy pinkish-purple and was threaded on a crystal chain. In the dimness of the office room, under the flickering florescent lighting, it seemed to radiate light. _

_"No, you'll pay more!" someone snapped at Naraku; he was tall and thin, young and attractive. _

_"Exactly! Hiten is correct," a fat and balding young man said supportively._

_Hiten, the handsome stranger, continued as if he had not heard the other man. "Do you know how much Manten and I had to go through to get that damn jewel, Naraku? Security was tighter than we've ever seen, and we almost got mauled by German shepherds!"_

_Naraku answered in his cool, collected voice: "I paid for you to steal the Shikon no Tama so that I could get out of debt for my… _hobbies_. I don't really care what you had to go through to get this," here, he gestured at the pink jewel, "but I will only pay as much as we agreed upon."_

_From her hiding place, Kagome stifled a gasp. The "hobbies" Naraku was talking about probably didn't mean knitting and needlepoint; instead, she was certain, he was referring to the white powder in clear, plastic bags that she had stumbled across several weeks before. Sure that they were illegal drugs, Kagome hadn't said anything. But stealing to pay for them? That was even worse. Kagome, before she could stop herself, gave an indignant squeak._

_Naraku spotted her spying through the open door. Within two strides, he was right in front of her; he reached through the gap and grabbed her arm, yanking her into the room. Pulling back his right hand, he backhanded her hard enough to force her head to snap back and into the edge of the door. Blood flowed freely from her temple, but her numb skin didn't register the pain._

_"Damn it," Naraku snapped, shoving Kagome by the shoulders until she slammed into the wall._

_Wide-eyed, Kagura took a step forward, but stopped herself. She'd been trying to save the stubborn girl; had it been her phone call that had drawn Kagome to Naraku's office?_

_Hiten and Manten whirled to face Naraku, fury overtaking their expressions "You asshole!" Hiten shouted, shaking his fist Kagome's enraged boyfriend. "You were going to sell us out and use the girl as a witness to put us behind bars!" _

_Naraku glanced down at the young woman sprawled on the ground, not even looking a little regretful as she peered back up at him with scared, tear-filled eyes. Reaching into his jacket pocket with his right hand, the one not holding the jewel, he pulled out a handgun. "Not exactly," he muttered, turning the muzzle of the gun on the other men. The unbelievably loud _cracks_ of gunshots caused both Kagome and Kagura to wince. Manten hit the ground first, a gaping hole in his head. Hiten, who had been hit once in the neck and once in the chest, followed soon after, bleeding out slowly. _

_"N-Naraku?" Kagome whispered pathetically, her voice shaking._

_Naraku turned on her, pointing the gun in her direction; she flinched. "You _bitch_," he snarled._

_Determination replaced the look of fear in Kagome's eyes as she steeled herself, set off by his insult, but he missed it easily; instead, he was focused on her cowering position, her quivering hands, her trembling bottom lip. Glancing quickly at the jewel in Naraku's hand, Kagome braced herself against the floor. In one swift, fluid movement, the girl shoved off from the ground and snatched the jewel from Naraku's stunned grasp. Spinning on her heel, Kagome dashed out of the open door and quickly passed through Kagura's office. _

_"_Run_!" she screamed at the two stunned boys by the elevator. Souta did as he was told and made straight for the stairs, refusing to wait for the elevator; Kagome swept a stiff Shippou up into her arms and cradled him to her chest "Hurry!" she pleaded, tripping down the steps after her brother. They burst through the door four floors down and onto the pavement outside. Kagome's heart was beating so wildly that she wasn't sure if there were footsteps close behind._

_"Get back here, bitch!" Naraku shouted, but his voice sounded far away. _

_Kagome snatched up her brother's cold hand, and they ran through the nearly deserted streets of Kyoto, wishing she wasn't in a mostly abandoned business distract on a weekend. Expertly, she led them through a maze of back streets and alleys until they reached a vacant building. Moving aside the loose metal sheet that she'd used many times before during her childhood exploring the city years ago, the woman shoved her brother through the gap before shutting the opening behind her._

_They climbed an old, dusty staircase, her memory guiding them. There was a room in the back of the upper level, which is where she, Souta, and Shippou crouched down, awaiting their fate. Frantically, all three tried to calm their ragged breathing; it sounded loud in their ears. _

_It was this building, an abandoned fabric factory, that Kagome had gone to when she little when she'd first learned about her father death after a long, drawn-out battle with cancer. It became a haven to her during her pre-teen years. _

_There were scraps of fabric all over the floor. Kagome looked around before finding a dark piece of velvet; she used it to wrap the jewel in, and then she tucked it into the bottom of her purse. _

_"Kagome?" Souta asked in a small voice, still panting from their mad dash through the streets._

_"We'll get out of this, I promise," Kagome responded sternly, hugging both of them to her chest. "Whatever happens, don't tell anyone what you saw today. None of it."_

_Shippou nodded and looked at her with eyes wild with fear; he whimpered and snuggled against her tighter. Meanwhile, Souta, who was a lot brighter than his sisters sometimes gave him credit for, looked away. He'd always known Naraku was bad news, and while he didn't fully understand what was happening between the man and his sister, Souta knew it was something that needed to be stopped. _

_They waited several hours, holding their breath and trying to come to an understanding with what had just happened. Near noon, Kagome finally decided it was time to make their move. Smoothing out the wrinkles in her clothes, she led them down to the streets. She kept alert as they worked their way back to a busy street. _

_Kagome hailed a cab and paid the man to bring them to a train station, the most out of the way, less-traveled one in hopes that Naraku wouldn't be staking it out. He didn't take her for much, Kagome realized. Naraku expected her to have a mind that only worked when he told it to work and never any other time._

_At the train station, Kagome purchased their tickets with cash for their best chance of survival: Tokyo, one of the most crowded cities in the world. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack, even for someone with as many connections as Naraku. Once there, all she had to do was find the perfect place to stay and wait it out until everything was smoothed over. At that moment, she was still envisioning a future where Naraku was "fixed." It didn't even dawn on her just how wrong things were. _

_Looking through the large phone book once they arrived at the Tokyo station, Kagome located an abused women's shelter. _Just what we need right about now_, Kagome thought sullenly._

_They walked the rest of the way in silence, only asking for directions once._

Two weeks later, curled up in the armchair in her new bedroom in an almost stranger's house, Kagome finally let the all the frustration and confusion take hold. The weight of the situation hadn't fully hit her yet until that moment—she hadn't let it. Now, however, as she cupped her hands over her face and fought off the sobs, she started to realize just how messed up her situation was.

Her abusive boyfriend, a drug user, had stolen an invaluable jewel and murdered two men.

Struggling not to hyperventilate—_because the jewel was right there in the room with her—_Kagome failed to notice that Inuyasha was standing silently in the doorway, watching her break down with something like pity on his face. His heart tugged when he heard her cry. Afraid to say something since when he talked, he tended to make things worse; Inuyasha instead walked into the room and approached the armchair. With only the slightest hesitation, he scooped Kagome up into his arms and sat back down again, cradling her against his chest, squeezing her tighter with every sob. He didn't say anything.

When Kagome's sobs finally began to subside, she pulled away from him, peering up at his face and trying to make out his features through the tears and dim moonlight. Having finally, _finally_, accepted just how bad it all was and actually crying over it, Kagome felt better. It was almost like she had a clean start because of a better perspective on things.

She nodded her thanks and silently climbed from his lap, patting his arm in a distracted, but friendly, sort of way. Too tired to crawl back under the sheets, Kagome just collapsed on top and fell immediately to sleep.

Thinking over the past two weeks, and how much trouble he'd been put through over that girl, Inuyasha drifted off into a deep slumber in the armchair.

* * *

When Kagome finally wandered into the kitchen the next morning, completely exhausted, she found Souta on a bar stool at the counter, knocking his head against the heard surface and muttering about being hungry. Shippou, meanwhile, sat off to the side and watched his uncle in a slightly concerned, mostly amused kind of way. Too tired to scold her brother, Kagome slumped down in the seat next to him.

"I take it Higurashis are not morning people," Sesshoumaru commented nonchalantly to Shippou as he entered the room, Rin riding piggy-back on his shoulders. Together, they were so tall that he had to duck under the doorway to avoid hitting the little girl's head on the doorjamb.

"Their grandpa is like that, too," Shippou admitted, grinning up at the man. It didn't even bother him that Sesshoumaru's face remained completely emotionless. "But Mrs. Higurashi—my Higi-bachan—is always in a good mood no matter what time of day. Then again, I guess she wasn't a Higurashi until she married her husband…"

"Ah, so it is a genetic Higurashi trait," Sesshoumaru concluded, pouring cereal for himself and the two adopted children.

Seeing his nephew eating, Souta finally stopped what he was doing and fetched breakfast for himself. Kagome, meanwhile, crossed her arms on the counter in a makeshift pillow and promptly fell asleep on top of them.

Ten minutes later, Inuyasha stalked into the kitchen with a distracted expression before creeping immediately back out, having said nothing and done nothing that required his being in the kitchen.

"No work today," Sesshoumaru commented to no one in particular.

"Yet that won't stop you from finishing up all that paperwork," Kagome murmured sleepily, her eyes still closed and still, if physically possible, snoring softly.

Sesshoumaru very nearly chuckled. Luckily, he caught himself just in time.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Tokyo, Miroku was having a much less pleasant morning back at his apartment.

"Oh, _Mi-ro-ku_," his fiancée, Koharu, whined in such a way that made his name sound like it was three different words. "Please?"

"No," Miroku muttered impatiently, rubbing the back of his head nervously. His very cool, calm personality was becoming very quickly unraveled.

"But… why?"

"You really need to leave, Koharu," the man told her sternly. "I'll speak with your parents over the phone to tell them you are coming home." Silently, he added, _and tell them that I want out of this arranged marriage business._

With a pout, Koharu ran from the room.

Thankfully, it only took him a few minutes to track down a phone number belonging to someone with Koharu's last name in a little town not too far outside the city. He dialed the number while shutting the door to keep his unwanted guest out.

"Mr. Iwatsubo?" Miroku asked when an older man's voice answered after several rings.

"Yes, who is this?"

"Hello, my name is Miroku Houshi. I'm calling to speak with Koharu's parents?"

"I'm afraid her parents are no longer with us," the old man explained in a sad, slow voice. "I am her grandfather. Miroku… Miroku… you are Koharu's fiancé, yes?"

"That's what I'm calling about. I want to end this engagement."

A long stretch of awkward silence filled the line before Miroku could hear Mr. Iwatsubo clear his throat forcefully. "That is impossible."

"But," Miroku started, beginning to sound very desperate, "Arranged marriages are so… so… _feudal era_!"

"I'm sorry, but this marriage was arranged by your parents well over eight years ago! It's too late to back out now," Koharu's grandfather snapped almost impatiently.

Miroku's mind raced, really starting to panic. "What if— what if I was _already_ engaged? To someone else, I mean."

"Excuse me?"

Not for the first time in his life, Miroku was extremely happy he was a very good, well-practiced liar. The story started to come easily to him now, lies and truths fitting together in just the right way that he really thought he could pull it off. "I didn't want to tell Koharu," he said, edging his voice with a fake hint of regret, "But I'm already engaged to a lovely young lady. My parents never mentioned this arranged marriage to me before they passed on, so I had no idea that I couldn't propose to another woman."

"I must meet this woman," the elderly man insisted after a pause. "If what you say is true, then I will let you out of this arrangement."

_Well… crap._ "Of course!" Miroku agreed, a bit too loudly, running over all the women in his life that he could possibly convince to pretend to be his fiancée. For a ladies' man, the list sure was short. "I will call you back with the details… after I confirm her schedule, I mean."

"Alright," Mr. Iwatsubo said warily. "I'll look forward to hearing from you again."

* * *

"Please, please, please Sango!" Miroku pleaded with the brunette. The four friends were sitting in Sango's living room later that afternoon, their tea and snacks momentarily forgotten because of his story. Inuyasha and Kagome both looked extremely amused.

"No!" Sango snapped, for the eighth time, obviously still very angry with him. Her arms were crossed tightly over her chest, and she had her head turned away as though she could even look at him.

In defeat, Miroku sighed and turned instead to Kagome. "What about you?"

"What? _No_!" Inuyasha snapped a little too quickly and a little too angrily, but he didn't seem to notice. "You aren't using Kagome for this."

Quirking an eyebrow at Inuyasha, a little bemused over his adamant refusal on her behalf, Kagome only spared him a short curious glance before aiming a smile at Miroku. "You know what? Sure, Miroku, I'll do it."

"Seriously?" all three best friends said at once, although each with a different tone of voice: Miroku in happiness, Sango in surprise, and Inuyasha in outrage.

"You can't do that!" Inuyasha insisted roughly, gaping openly at Kagome.

"I can, and I will. Miroku needs my help," Kagome explained patiently, still smiling. "You guys have all done so much for me; I'm happy to do something to start returning the favor."

Inuyasha began to fume silently, because he didn't like it. One: Miroku was a complete pervert and couldn't be trusted. Two: Didn't Kagome have enough trouble with men already? And three: He just _really _didn't like it.

That very night, Kagome opened Miroku's front door and bowed politely to the elderly couple waiting just beyond that. "Hello," she greeted cheerfully, stepping away from the door and making a big, sweeping gesture. "Please come in!"

"Good evening," the old man, Mr. Iwatsubo, greeted, scrutinizing the pretty young woman. "It is a pleasure to meet you, I'm sure. If you don't mind, we would like to ask you a few questions to make sure you really are Miroku's bride-to-be."

Kagome and Miroku glanced at one another nervously, having not planning on playing twenty questions to prove their little farce. On the other hand, how on earth could Koharu's grandparents know for certain whether Kagome had the real answers? All she had to do was answer quickly, without obvious hesitation or stress, with her best guess; if she seemed confident, wouldn't she get the seal of approval? Kagome nodded her consent, forcing her smile to remain relaxed.

"What is Miroku's favorite color?"

"Purple."

"Worst habit?"

"Keeping his hands to himself."

"Favorite food?"

"Rice cakes."

"Favorite drink?"

"Sake."

Silence descended as the old couple peered at Kagome closely, as if they could look hard enough and see the word "liar" written directly on her forehead. Apparently happy, Mr. and Mrs. Iwatsubo nodded and excused themselves.

"Thank you for your time," Mrs. Iwatsubo told Kagome and Miroku politely. "Koharu is waiting in the lobby. We will take her directly home."

With one last polite bow, Miroku's ex-fiancée's grandparents left. Once they were out of sight, the liars gave one another a high five.

Miroku grabbed Kagome by the waist and lifted her in the air, spinning around with a celebratory, "_Yes_!" Setting her down on the ground, Miroku wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Well, dear, how do you want to celebrate?"

"What was that?" Inuyasha snapped, stepping into the room from where he was hiding in the kitchen with Sango. Honestly, they'd been expecting this charade to fail miserably, giving everyone a good laugh. Stomping over to the pair, he unwrapped Miroku's arm from around Kagome's waist with a glare. Unfazed, Miroku continued to cheer happily, going so far as to do a little dance where he stood.

Kagome laughed openly at Inuyasha—who seemed grumpier than usual—and shrugged off his odd, over-protective attitude.

"Since we're engaged, does that mean I can do this?" Miroku asked innocently, reaching out and grabbing Kagome inappropriately. She slapped his hand away just as Sango walked up behind them and cuffed Miroku on the ear.

"Do it again, and you'll lose that hand," Kagome warned with a finger-wag, still smiling because they'd pulled off the plan.

Koharu was officially out of the picture.

**Next Chapter: What Have I Done?**


	13. What Have I Done?

Edited: 7/13/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Thirteen: What Have I Done?

* * *

Another hard night found Kagome startled awake, a layer of cold sweat coating her shivering body. Her frantic mind scrambled to remember all of her dream, but it was fleeing quickly. Only bits and pieces came back to her: the murders, the jewel, Naraku's voice. She'd dreamt of it several times, but now her memories were distorted in a nightmarish way, reality altered. This time, her mother and grandfather were also there, as well as her high school friend Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi—who she hadn't seen for year, ever since she first started dating Naraku

Her family and friends were warning her, advising her on how to get out of her situation. When Naraku arrived, they surrounded Kagome and took the brunt of his attack. Just before Kagome woke up, she was surrounded by dead bodies lying in a pool of blood, their eyes open and lifeless.

With a dry sob, no tears, Kagome covered her face with her hands and tried to block out the frightening images. Slowly, her heartbeat and breathing went back to a more normal, steady pace, but the final scene remained just behind her eyelids. The shadows throughout the room thrown by the moonlight clawed towards her, making her feel cornered in her own bed.

Quickly, she threw the covers from her body and stumbled to her feet. Within seconds, she was in the hallway, standing nervously in front of Inuyasha's bedroom door. Even with her nerves steeled, Kagome couldn't force herself to go inside. Instead, she pushed herself to keep walking until she came to the bathroom. Opening and shutting the door quietly, she flipped on the light and turned on the shower.

The hot water helped calm her down and wake her up, but it also cleared her mind and made it easier to _remember_.

She remembered Naraku sitting next to her hospital bed, holding her hand after that very first beating, and him promising her that it would never happen again. She'd promised herself the same thing.

She remembered being in the restaurant a week earlier, Naraku standing behind her and nuzzling her neck as she realized how much his touch disgusted her.

She remembered Kouga's broken and battered face, only concerned about her safety when he should really be worried about his own life.

Four years worth of memories crowded around in her mind, battling it out until they each got a moment of her time. It wasn't just Naraku and his mistakes, but also hers. It was her own fault that she had stuck around as long as she did, that she'd put herself, her brother and her own son in danger. If she had gotten out sooner or if she had found just the right way to fix Naraku, then everything—everyone—would be okay.

"What have I done?" Kagome asked herself in a strangled voice, slumping against the shower wall, feeling the water roll off her in rivulets and circle the drain. Leaning forward, she pounded her fist against the glass door. Her knees buckled, no longer able to support her weight, and she curled up on the floor. "Oh god, what have I done?"

She stayed there until long after the hot water turned cold, until the steady beating of the water lulled her into a tearful sleep.

* * *

At three in the morning, Inuyasha woke up. For several minutes, he laid in the dark and stared up at his ceiling, struggling to identify what exactly had pushed him out of sleep. Finally, he recognized the sound of the shower running in the bathroom on the other side of his room. Checking the time on the clock on his nightstand, he got to his feet and lumbered out of his room.

Irritably, he rapped his knuckles on the door to make sure the person was all right. It was Kagome, he knew. She was the only other person with a bedroom in the same hall as his own, and there was no one else in the house he could think of that would be emotionally unstable enough to need a shower at three in the morning.

When no one answered his increasingly urgent knocking, Inuyasha eased the door open. He kept his eyes on the ground, afraid to catch sight of Kagome in a compromising position, one that would make their living situation even more complicated.

"Kagome?" he called, staring at the rug. "Are you okay? Do you need something?"

No one answered.

Deciding to risk it, he slowly lifted his eyes until they were on the steamy glass door of the shower. It was empty.

"Damn it," he grumbled, fully stepping into the room. "No one understands how much water costs. You can't just leave a shower running…" he continued, reaching inside to twist the knobs, cutting the flow of water. It was only then that he caught sight of Kagome curled up on the floor, in the fetal position and sound asleep.

Once again screwing his eyes shut, Inuyasha felt around on the wall until he located a towel, which he promptly draped over her body. He grabbed another and, now certain he could look without seeing anything, wrapped them both more tightly around her. She shivered but stayed asleep, even as he lifted her up.

Of course he was concerned, but mostly he didn't want to know. Inuyasha carried her back into her room and tucked her back into bed, leaving her wrapped in the towels. He then returned to his room and changed into a dry shirt, tossing the partially soaked one into the laundry basket in the corner. It was only as he was drifting off into sleep that Inuyasha thought about how perfectly she seemed to fit in his arms.

* * *

The following morning, Souta was the first one to notice that Kagome—normally one of the first people to wake up and stumble into the kitchen—was nowhere in sight. "Hey, where's Kagome?" he asked, setting down his spoon back into his cereal bowl.

He and Shippou had made sure to get up early and dress immediately; Kagome had promised to take them to work with her instead of dropping them off at Sango's with Kohaku. Now, she wasn't even there.

Inuyasha shrugged uncomfortably, trying to forget the odd scene he had encountered in the middle of the night. It didn't seem right to worry the children about how weirdly Kagome was acting.

Shippou, who'd left to investigate, came running into the kitchen, his eyes wide and frantic. "Souta! _Souta_!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"It's Kagome," Shippou stammered, clinging to his uncle's leg. All movement in the kitchen stopped as everyone turned to stare at the little redheaded boy.

"What about her?" Souta asked, frowning. Looking as worried as he did, he seemed years

Shippou twisted his hands nervously, tears brimming in his eyes. "She doesn't look so good. She's pale and shouting, but she won't wake up!"

Swiftly, both Youkai brothers walked from the room and arrived at her doorway. To be polite, they knocked; when there was no response, Sesshoumaru opened the door and walked in first.

"Ms. Higurashi?" She didn't answer. "Kagome?"

It was obvious when he studied her that something was clearly wrong. She was far paler than normal, and her inky dark hair made her look almost white. Her lips were chapped and bleeding, and her damp hands twisted the sheets as though she was gripped by a nightmare.

"Well?" Inuyasha prompted from the doorway.

"Call that friend of yours, the woman," Sesshoumaru ordered in his no-nonsense voice.

Inuyasha fumbled for his cell phone and immediately called Sango. His conversation, one-sided to half-brother, went like this: "Hey, Sango, it's me… I don't know… Well, she's not in the best of shape at the moment, _that's _why I said I don't know… If I knew why she looked like crap, I wouldn't be calling you, now would I? … No, I think we need Kaede; isn't she a part-time nurse? … Sure… Thanks; bye."

An hour later, everyone was waiting out in the hallway while Kaede finished examining Kagome in the bedroom. When the old woman appeared in the doorway looking grim, the other crowded around her.

"I don't know why she is sick," Sango's nanny announced bleakly. "Her fever is very high."

Kaede, Sango, Sesshoumaru, and the children retired to the living room to further discuss the problem away from Kagome, but Inuyasha wandered back into her bedroom. He dragged the armchair over to her bedside and collapsed in it, studying her pale, sweaty face.

"You didn't seem like someone who got sick easily," he told her, almost conversationally. Inuyasha was surprised to find just how worried he was. Then again, he reminded himself, Kagome was not only his employee and his housemate, but he was also to see the young woman as a friend. It was difficult not to after spending so much time with one another for two weeks. It was even harder not to like her, admire her even, after seeing her in such a vulnerable position and keeping fighting despite it.

Inuyasha was startled when Kagome, still sleeping, whipped her head in his direction and snarled, "Shut_ up_."

"Okay," he replied slowly, reaching out to touch her forehead. She whimpered at the contact and flinched away; her skin was burning hot.

"It's my fault, Naraku," the girl continued in another outburst, her voice hoarse but firm. "It's always been my fault."

He couldn't help himself. Inuyasha leaned closer and whispered, "I don't think so."

A beat passed before Kagome's expression screwed itself tighter, angry. "You can't have it!" It was something he had heard her say before during that other night. This time, however, she continued. "It's not even yours. Why'd you do it, Naraku? We could have been _happy_."

Listening to her fever-induced speech, Inuyasha felt only a little guilty. It was like reading someone's diary. "What did Naraku do, Kagome?" he pushed in a very quiet voice. The answer he received was surprising and incited a shiver down his spine.

"All that _blood_. Why, Naraku?" she whispered, her voice finally growing softer as she rolled over to face Inuyasha. "So much blood, all over. The floor, the walls, you."

Finally feeling like he might be understanding things better, Inuyasha leaned in closer. "Whose blood?" he urged.

Kagome frowned, as if trying to remember a far-off dream. "The men," she answered, delirious in her fever-induced sleep. Her voice sounded foggier and real thick. "Hiten and Ma…"

Inuyasha frowned. He expected her to say it was her blood, or even Naraku's, if she'd ever had the courage to hit back. With a dawning horror, Inuyasha realized that it now sounded like there was more to it than an abusive relationship and some stolen property. "Murder?" Inuyasha whispered.

Kagome nodded furiously; her cheeks were bright red. "Yes. Dead before they hit the floor."

"How?"

Kagome bit her dry, split lip, and it started to bead with blood again. Even in her sleep, she was choosing to trust Inuyasha. "A gun."

"Who?"

"Naraku." That didn't surprise him, but the next part did. "And me."

After that, no matter how much Inuyasha urged, Kagome kept her mouth shut. Feeling like he'd been hit by a truck, Inuyasha shoved back the armchair and crept from the room. He walked into the living room, and everyone turned to face him. While he was in the room with Kagome, Miroku had arrived.

"I need to talk to you," he told his best friend, sounding very serious as he jerked his thumb in the direction of Sesshoumaru's office. To the others' confusion, Inuyasha led Miroku out of the room. Once the two men were alone, Inuyasha explained the entire conversation with Kagome as well as he could recall it.

Silence stretched between them for several minutes as Miroku let Inuyasha's words sink in.

"Do you think she helped with the murder?" Inuyasha finally asked; he ran a hand through his hair, indicating his frustration.

Miroku struggled to stay calm and practical. "Perhaps," he said. "We don't know Kagome well enough to know if she would help with murder. Naraku may have forced her, or she might have done it on her own."

Stubbornly, Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't believe it," he growled.

Miroku was taken aback by his friend's determination on the matter, his absolute certainty. However, once he examined his own feelings, Miroku also found himself doubting Kagome as a murderess.

"You're right. You must have misunderstood," Miroku said gently. "Don't forget that she was feverish, not to mention asleep, during this entire conversation of yours."

They were interrupted when Sango popped her head into the office, looking at her best friends suspiciously. Instead of asking them what they were talking about, she told them, "Kaede thinks Kagome's body is just under so much stress that she contracted the first illness she came in contact with. It's probably just the flu, but it seems so much worse because her immune system is so compromised right now."

Inuyasha sighed in relief.

* * *

Late into the night, Kagome continued to toss and turn in restlessness.

"My fault," she whispered over and over again.

Her feverish brain kept replaying the murder, showing her the bloody bodies, the lifeless eyes, the gaping gunshot wounds. In her dream, she was covered in blood splatter. Their eyes, their empty and lifeless eyes, glared at her in anger and betrayal. If she had never shown up that day or if she'd just kept her mouth shut, Naraku might have let them live. It was her fault; she could have stopped it. If nothing else, she could have knocked the gun from Naraku's hand or jumped in front of them like a human shield.

It wasn't just Naraku's fault. It was hers, too.

"What have I done?" she whispered in her sleep, thinking about their faces. "_What have I done_?"

The man sitting at her bedside, sitting sleepless in an armchair, didn't have an answer for her.

Staying quiet wasn't one of his strong points, so Inuyasha scrambled to find something to say to soothe her. "You saved Souta and Shippou," he told the distraught woman, reached out and smoothing her bangs from her sweaty forehead. He stroked her cheek with a callused thumb. "You're amazing at your job. You brighten up people's lives."

Twisted in her sheets, tears streaking down her face, Kagome looked so delicate and vulnerable; it sparked in him a fierce desire to make her feel safe and protected. She was his _friend_. He felt was Sango and Miroku must have felt immediately upon meeting her. It had just taken Inuyasha a little longer.

It would have to be enough.

Her breath started to slow down and her eyebrows unknitted themselves and Kagome left the blood soaked room, spurred on by Inuyasha's words of encouragement, and started to dream.

_"Hey sweetie," her mom called from the kitchen._

_"Hi, Mom!"Kagome greeted cheerfully as she entered the sweet-smelling kitchen. She dropped of her oversized, heavily stuffed yellow backpack on the table. "That smells great," she told Mrs. Higurashi with a grin, sniffing the air. She skipped over and peered around her mother's shoulder at the pot sitting on the stove; inside was her favorite food. "Yes! Oden! You're the best."_

_Mrs. Higurashi laughed joyfully, wiping her hands on the front of her apron. "How'd your math test go, sweetie?"_

_With a dramatic sigh, teenaged Kagome collapsed on a kitchen chair. "Okay, I guess. I hate math," she admitted with a wince. Her mother only chuckled._

_"Ah, hello there, my dearest granddaughter," Kagome's grandfather greeted as he wandered in from the yard. He had been tending the shrine all day. Souta was at his heels, grinning boyishly at his family, seeming very young._

_"Hi, guys," Kagome answered with a grin, ruffling her little brother's hair as he passed her._

_Kagome glanced down at her school uniform and decided it was time to change; she'd been in her very short, pleated green skirt and white blouse all day. She longed to get into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. As she pushed away from the table to go to her room, a plump Buyo followed in her wake. _

_She'd barely left the kitchen when she heard her mother scream. Immediately, Kagome raced back inside, only to find Mrs. Higurashi slumped on the ground. Her grandfather was standing protectively over the body, but he looked frail. _

_Naraku was standing there with a gun, grinning wickedly. His dark face seemed distorted._

_"Get out of our house!" Kagome's grandfather shouted, but a _crack_ sounded at he fell to the floor in a heap._

_Terrified, Souta tried to run out the door to the yard and escape, but the gun went off again. The little boy tumbled to the grass mid-stride, blood blossoming on the back of his school shirt. _

_"You _bastard_!" Kagome shrieked at Naraku, racing past him and towards Souta, as though to check on him. She knew he was already dead. _

_The moment she was outside, Kagome realized she was holding a bow and arrow in her hands. She notched the arrow and raised it, pointing at Naraku—who just stood there, grinning at her. As steadily as she could, remembering learning archery in school, Kagome aimed at his heart and let the arrow fly. It whistled through the air and struck Naraku in the chest, but suddenly it wasn't him anymore._

_Instead, it was Inuyasha._

_He didn't look quite right. In her dream state, Kagome saw him as silver-haired and golden-eyed—like a hero from a fairytale._

_The arrow pinned him at the base of the sacred tree. _

_Stunned, Kagome dropped the weapon to the ground and let her tears flow unchecked. She fell to her knees and crawled forward, not understanding. As she watched, Inuyasha transformed back into the man she knew, one with black hair and dark eyes. His face was very still. _

_"Kagome," he whispered, his eyes closing._

_She sobbed, knowing it was all her fault._

_Inuyasha was gone forever._

"No!" Kagome screamed, sitting straight up in bed and clawing at the sheets around her.

Inuyasha snapped away, springing up from the armchair. He murmured soothingly to her, but she started to sob until he wrapped his arms around her; she quieted, but continued to cry, feeling like every moment in his arms was another step towards hurting him.

She knew what the dream meant. She _knew_.

To fix Naraku's mess, Kagome could end up betraying her new friends.

She would end up betraying Inuyasha.

And she no longer felt that that could be helped.

**Next Chapter: Breakdown**


	14. Breakdown

Edited: 7/14/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Fourteen: Breakdown

* * *

Shortly after Kagome's fever broke—and she once again woke from a nightmare, breaking down into tears—she ordered Inuyasha from her room. She made it clear that she no longer felt comfortable with him in there. As angry as it made him to be kicked out of a room in his own house, Inuyasha was too confused and hurt by the cold way Kagome suddenly turned on him to question her decision. If she wanted him out, then he would go.

Once in the hallway, he shut the door quietly behind him, picturing her distraught expression. It was just after she gained control of her breathing and stopped crying that she started to push his arms away from her, wincing as though his touch physically hurt her, although Inuyasha knew he was being very gentle. A small part of him worried that she was afraid he might hit her.

Now, with the door between them, he studied the wood of the door, lost in the maze of grains and knots. "I'll protect you," he promised quietly.

What he didn't realize was that Kagome heard him anyway.

Instead of soothing her frayed nerves, it only made her feel worse. The idea of betraying her friends—of betraying Inuyasha—weighed heavily on her mind. She didn't want to hurt him or any of the others. Tears pricked her eyes unbidden. She was still in awe at how easily they had accepted her into their lives, and Kagome felt that she didn't deserve it.

Pulling the covers back over her, Kagome begged her body to go back to sleep. Although her eyes closed, she couldn't sleep.

Hours passed, and the house creaked around her. In the darkness, Kagome suddenly came to a realization about what she needed to do. The decision seemed so clear. Souta and Shippou didn't deserve to have their lives dragged down by her mistakes, and neither did Sango, Miroku, or Inuyasha.

Silently, Kagome slipped out of bed and walked over to her dresser drawer. She dug down to the bottom, under her clothes, and found a velvet-wrapped lump—just where she'd hidden it when she first moved into the Youkai household. The velvet felt cold and dark in her small hands as she unfolded the jewel; it was as though she held an entire world. Lifting out the pink sphere, Kagome clasped the crystal chain around her neck.

Within minutes, Kagome was dressed and out the room, leaving behind only a note.

* * *

"Kagome?" Inuyasha called gruffly as he rapped his knuckles on her bedroom door the following morning. Keeping his anger in check, he shouted a little louder, "We need to talk."

Oh, those four evil, little words.

Inuyasha sighed and rubbed the lingering tiredness out of his eyes with one hand, as he shoved the heavy wooden door open with the other.

"Kago—!"

He cut himself off sharply, his eyes growing wide. It was his next exclamation that drew the attention of every single person in the house, including some servants.

"_Shit_!"

* * *

On her way out the door, Kagome had grabbed a coat from the main closet in the hallway. Now, she was glad she did, because fall was very quickly turning into winter, and the wind was bitterly cold. It pushed against her, strong enough to slow her progress and make her feel even frailer than she already did. Underneath the big, heavy jacket, she wore the same green skirt and white blouse that she had the day she first arrived in Tokyo. The only difference was that the Shikon-no-Tama was looped around her throat, safely hidden under her collar, instead of buried deep in her purse.

The coat she'd taken was Inuyasha's. It was a lot bigger than she needed, and the fabric was heavy and rough, but it left her feeling warm and almost safe; it also smelled strongly of its owner—a musky masculine scent that filled her nose every time she shifted or wrapped her arms tighter around herself.

She'd taken off on foot at four in the morning from the Youkai household; although her feet already ached, Kagome had only just now reached the outskirt of downtown Tokyo. In the distance, she could pick out the Inutaisho Company high-rise on the horizon.

Her eyes downcast, staying half-lidded and on the pavement to avoid the sting of her hair whipping around her face, she failed to notice the gaze of a nearby pedestrian. Instead, she thought about the note she had left behind.

* * *

_My dear friends and family, __it read._

_I realized tonight that by staying near you, I am putting you all in danger. _

_Souta, Shippou—I love you more than I could ever express. Soon, if everything turns out like I'm hoping it will, you can go back to be with Mama and Grandfather. I hope you understand that I never wanted you to be dragged into this; I want you to stay innocent for as long as you possibly can. I'll miss you and pray that you will always stay safe. _

_Sango— You were my first real friend, did you know that? In high school, I had Kouga and Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, but they never got me like you did. I already feel so close to you and find myself wishing that we had been born sisters. I would've been proud to call you family. Please donate all the clothes we bought to the Sakura Hide-Away shelter. I'll miss you, too, and every day I will be thankful for meeting you. _

_Miroku— You have no idea how much you helped me. My new identity allowed me to once again have a taste of a normal, successful life, even if it only lasted a couple of weeks. Stay safe; you really are a good person and deserve nothing but happiness. I'll miss you and pray that you figure out your "__feelings__."_

_"'Feelings' is in quotation marks," Inuyasha, who was reading the note allowed to everyone, explained. "I don't really get it…"_

_"Keep reading," Miroku, who looked a little nervous as though maybe he did 'get it,' urged his best friend._

_Sesshoumaru— My dear ice prince of a boss, please thaw out a bit, please? Give Rin a hug and a kiss from her 'Aunt Kagome' for me and tell her to be a good girl._

_Inuyasha—_

Here, Inuyasha paused and frowned down at the many scribbles and unreadable parts that had been heavily crossed out by a pen. Finally, he found something still legible.

_Inuyasha— I hope you don't miss your coat too much._

_With love straight from my heart to all of yours,  
Kagome_

During the reading, Sango had been leaning against the wall, afraid to rely on her legs to support her weight. After Inuyasha finished reading Kagome's farewell letter, she slid down the wall to sit on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. "Why did she leave?" the brunette asked, looking around at all the others. They mirrored her expression: confused with a hint of exasperation.

Souta, who had been very quiet up until that moment, suddenly told them all, "I know." His eyes were trained on a crumpled piece of velvet lying on the floor, half hidden under the bed.

"Souta!" Shippou shouted, surprised. "No! You can't tell them. We promised Kagome that we would never tell anyone, no matter what."

The older boy glanced away, a bitter frown on his face as he remembered his promise to his sister. He wanted to keep his word, but at the same time, he trusted these people—and if it could get Kagome back…

When Souta didn't say anything, Inuyasha glanced between the two boys. "What's going on, you two? Why'd she take off like that?" Personally, he was feeling betrayed. For two weeks, he had allowed Kagome into his admittedly exclusive life. She'd been accepted at his place of work, accepted into his _home_, he'd comforted her and swore to protect her, and she'd taken off with nothing but a note to explain her actions.

"I promised Kagome," Souta mumbled, unsure.

"Tell us," Sesshoumaru commanded firmly. It was difficult to refuse him.

Souta chewed on his bottom lip nervously and surveyed all the faces in the room, people who had taken them in like family. He understood how hard that must have been, to care for and protect people you didn't know; Souta wasn't sure he'd have been able to do it if he was them. "Naraku… well, Shippou and I, we always sort of knew what was happening, no matter what Kagome told us," he began, making the decision to trust them with _everything_. "I— I should have helped her!" Stubborn tears pricked his eyes, and he looked away, ashamed. Shaking, he balled his hands into fists.

Shippou walked over to his adopted uncle and reached up to hold his hand, also looking like he might burst into tears at any moment.

"Go on," Sango prodded gently.

"Two week ago, we went to visit N-Naraku at his company," he began, his heart squeezing painfully as he let the memory for into words.

"Kagome said we were going to go to the zoo," Shippou added. He looked miserable.

Souta nodded. "Kagome told us to stay with the elevators while she went to pick him up. She… she was so _cheerful_, you know? Like Naraku was the best thing in the world. In her world, I guess." With a deep breath, Souta finally met Inuyasha's eyes, as if out of everyone in the room, he was the one that the little boy could trust the most to find and defend his sister. In two weeks, Souta had come to see Inuyasha as strong and successful and protective, all the things he wanted to grow up to be. All the things that Naraku wasn't. Kagome didn't realize how much the two had hung out in the last week; she'd been distracted by other things. "We don't know what happened while she was back there in Naraku's office, but we suddenly heard shouting and then… well, it sounded like gunshots. Two of them. Less than a minute later, Kagome came running out towards us, waving something in her hand."

"It was this big pink jewel," Shippou explained. Everyone looked at him, surprised. "When she picked me up, when we started running, I got a good look at it."

"We ran and hid in this old warehouse, and then Kagome brought us here, to Tokyo. She made us promise not to tell anyone anything, back before she met you guys." Souta paused, looking back down at the ground. "I think… I think Naraku stole the jewel. And I think he killed someone. It's what it took to finally knock some sense into Kagome."

Letting the words sink in, Miroku forced himself to stay calm. He was standing next to Sango, and he reached down towards her on the ground; silently, she reached back and grabbed his hand, linking her fingers with his to draw support.

Inuyasha looked grim, his mind racing. Souta's story explained why Naraku was putting so much time and effort into scaring Kagome to come back to him. It wasn't just about her; it was also about this jewel. Still, he needed Kagome to fill in the rest of the blanks for them. She was the only one who knew the whole story.

Plus, she also stole his favorite coat.

It took less than half an hour to rouse everyone into a search party. Sango called Kaede, who brought Kohaku over to watch the children. Tokyo was so large, that they split up—all except Sesshoumaru, who decided he would act as home base. Inuyasha had a sneaking suspicion that his brother just wanted an excuse to finish some paperwork.

Inuyasha took the area around his company, hoping that Kagome would stick to familiar territory. He stormed down the streets of Tokyo, glaring at everyone and grumbling under his breath, scaring several passersby. After an hour of fruitless searching, he finally tried the ice cream parlor that he'd taken Kagome and the gang to her first night in Tokyo.

He glanced around.

* * *

The bell hanging over the entrance of the door rang to signal a customer entering, but Kagome paid no attention. It was mid-morning, and business in the ice cream parlor was only just beginning to pick up. She had taken a corner booth, hoping to stay out of the way of everyone. In her hands, the Shikon jewel shined brilliant as she examined it.

Kagome was angry with herself. She'd left the Youkai household hours ago, but she still had no idea where to go. Frustrated, she looped the jewel back around her throat, feeling the slight weight as it rested against her chest.

"It looks beautiful on you," a man said, startling her.

Quickly, Kagome tucked the jewel back under her collar before glancing nervously up at person interrupting her pitiful reverie. She took her time looking at his face, worried that it might be Naraku or a policeman. Fortunately, it was just Inuyasha.

Torn between relief and nervousness, Kagome gasped, "Inuyasha?"

Looking conflicted himself, he crawled into the booth across from her. "Yeah?"

"Why did you find me?"

"Because," he muttered stubbornly after the smallest hesitation, realizing that he just wasn't good enough to put the situation into words.

Apparently accepting that as a good enough answer, Kagome nodded. Her eyes dropped back down to the table, ashamed.

"I know a little more about your past," he told her softly, leaning forward on his elbows and peering at her face, trying to meet her eyes behind the curtain her thick bangs created.

At a loss for why Inuyasha would possibly still want to be around her if he knew the trust, Kagome's face crumbled. Naturally, her tears only frustrated Inuyasha even more, and he reached out to stop her from hiding behind her hands. Quickly, he changed seats, sitting down next to her in the booth; he brought her head down onto his shoulder and then laid his cheek against her hair, wrapping an arm securely around her shoulders to bring her in tighter against him. They sat like that for several minutes until her sobs turned into sniffles.

"You cry a lot," he muttered, sounding a little resigned.

"Trust me— I'd stop if I could. It's no picnic for me either," Kagome joked weakly. She took a deep breath, and when she let it out, it tickled his neck. "Thank you," she mumbled, "For finding me. Still, I don't think you should have. It would be better for everyone if I left and took my problems with me."

"Oh, will you just shut up about that?" he snapped. Surprised and a little hurt, Kagome tried to pull away, but he just tightened his hold. "Stop talking like that. We are going to help you whether you want it or not."

"Well… Well, _fine_ then," Kagome answered, startled. She felt exhausted; far too tired to argue with him.

"You are going to get that ridiculous idea about running away out of your head, come home with me, and explain everything to everyone. No more secrets," Inuyasha continued in a stern voice, sounding almost like Sesshoumaru. "And, most importantly, you're going to answer this question."

Kagome nodded against his shoulder, letting him know that she was listening.

"Just why the hell was my part in your goodbye letter so goddamn short?"

Kagome was startled into laughter and was finally allowed to pull away out of his hold. She wiped away the tears from her face and glanced away, blushing. "Well," she began but then paused, scrambling to find an answer; honestly, she wasn't really sure herself.

"Yeah?"

"I guess I just didn't know what to say to you," she concluded finally, shrugging helplessly. What she didn't mention was how hard it had been at the time to find the right words to say goodbye to him, almost as if she _couldn't _say goodbye to him. The words just wouldn't come.

Inuyasha chuckled, deciding to accept her explanation; it didn't help that he was struck by how pretty she looked, her cheeks tinted pink like that.

After a couple more minutes, Inuyasha sent a text to everyone letting them know he had tracked her down and would be bringing her home. They then spent the next several hours hanging out in the booth in the ice cream parlor, eating sundaes, and beginning to wonder why they felt so awkward and comfortable with one another.

Neither of the twenty-somethings noticed that they were being watched by a woman across the street. Kagura had been sitting on a bus bench for hours, having followed Kagome after walking past her much earlier that morning. She hadn't notified Naraku.

"Be happy Kagome that I saw you first," Kagura muttered under her breath, studying Kagome at the handsome young man through the glass. The other woman looked happy, smiling and laughing and reaching out to poke the man playfully in the chest after what appeared to be a joke. "Spend as much time with them as you can," Kagura continued, her crimson eyes narrowed. "I can only postpone the inevitable for so long."

* * *

"And that's why I left; that's the whole story," Kagome concluded, looking around at all the attentive but stunned faces surrounding her.

"Kagome," Sango whispered, her heart aching for her friend. She imagined watching two people get killed right in front of her, and even _thinking _about it made her feel squeamish and angry.

Inuyasha and Miroku looked more angry (at Naraku, of course) than sympathetic, while Sesshoumaru only nodded in understanding.

"Um, Miroku?" Kagome began tentatively.

"Yes, Kagome?"

"Do you have an untraceable phone or something like that?"

"I do, actually," Miroku responded, fishing out his cell phone—a satellite phone given to him by the government. "For my job."

"What is it exactly that you do?" she asked, reaching for it gratefully.

"I'm afraid that's classified," the man said cheerful at the same time Sango said, "He's the receptionist."

Kagome laughed at the incredulous expression on Miroku's face.

"I am _not _the receptionist!" he exclaimed defensively. Sango just rolled her eyes.

"I want to call my mother," Kagome explained as she began dialing a number that she knew by heart. "I need to tell her that I'm safe." Everyone nodded their understanding as she excused herself from the room to make the call privately.

"Mama?" Kagome asked quietly as soon as she closed the door behind her.

"Honey!" Mrs. Higurashi's normally cheerful voice was frantic with worry. "Oh, Kagome, dear, are you alright? Where are you?"

"I'm fine, Mama," Kagome assured her mother firmly; she brushed away the tears that had begun to form, tired of crying. "I'm safe. I'm with some good friends, and they're helping me take care of things. Souta and Shippou are doing just great."

"I miss you, honey," Mrs. Higurashi said quietly, sounding like she was crying.

Homesickness slammed into Kagome, constricting her heart; she could no longer hold back the tears, and they started to fall freely. "I miss you, too."

Inuyasha, who was waiting just on the other side of the door, fought back the fierce desire to join Kagome in the room and wrap her in a comforting hug. His arms actually ached with the effort to hold back. He wanted to hold onto her tight and never let go, never let anything hurt her again, and the strength of that left him breathless. The protectiveness incited in him was as strong—maybe even stronger—than he felt for Miroku or Sango or even Rin. Just when, he thought, did Kagome become such an important person in his life?

The first time he held her.

No longer able to hold back, Inuyasha walked into the room and shut the door quietly behind him. Kagome didn't even object when she felt him loop his arms around her waist, instead just settling against his chest like it was the most natural thing in the world. His heartbeat steadied her as she finished talking to her mom.

Even after she hung up, Kagome stayed there like that with him, happy for the warmth his embrace provided, finally accepting that if anyone could protect, it would be Inuyasha.

* * *

"She's safe," Mrs. Higurashi whispered as she hung up the phone. Tears slid down her cheeks, and she dabbed at them with the hem of her apron. Her doe brown eyes, just like Souta's eyes, gained strength. "She's _safe_."

Adopting a smile, Kagome's mother marched out of the kitchen with the intent to find her father-in-law and Kagome's friends and let them know the good news. They really needed it.

**Next Chapter: Girls' Night Out**


	15. Girls' Night Out

This chapter may seem like a filler, but it had a purpose. Lots of little scenes in this one.

Edited: 7/14/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Fifteen: Girls' Night Out

* * *

"Morning, Kagome!"

"Good morning, Ayame," Kagome responded cheerfully as she slowed down to wait for her redheaded friend.

The two walked side by side into the building. "You're here later than usual," Ayame pointed out thoughtfully as they approached the elevator bank.

"Yeah, I walked today," the other woman explained distractedly, pushing the button to call the elevator to the lobby.

"You live near here? Where?"

Kagome flushed pink, instantly realizing that she'd almost told her (admittedly gossipy) coworker that she lived with their bosses—two young, very attractive men. "Oh, not _that _close," she answered vaguely, avoiding Ayame's inquisitive green eyes. "It's kind of far away actually, but I like to take long walks to clear my head. Anyway, what's new with you?" she asked, dancing around the subject. Ayame didn't disappoint.

"I was thinking about having a girls' night out," the redhead announced excitedly, boarding the elevator with Kagome right behind her.

"Oh, that sounds like fun!"

"I know, right?" Ayame gushed. "It's decided; girls' night is tonight. You're coming!" she commanded, right as they reached her floor. The redhead rushed out, not giving Kagome a chance to argue, and power-walked away after she tossed a wave over her shoulder at her friend.

"Hey, wait a min—!" Kagome began, but was cut off when the doors slid shut in her face. She grumbled as the one other passenger looked on in amusement.

"Poor Kagome," Nobunaga teased. "Being forced to party with your friends—that sounds just awful!"

To his even greater amusement, Kagome just rolled her eyes at her coworker and refused to talk to him until he got off at his own stop, where she finally gave him a goodbye, the doors started to shut, but Kagome was startled when she heard someone shouting.

"Wait!" Inuyasha called, racing towards the closing doors with an arm full of files. "Hold the elevator!" At the last second, Kagome reached out and hit the button to reopen the doors. Inuyasha slid inside, panting; she only grunted at him in recognition.

"Wow," Inuyasha said mockingly, examining her expression. "You're in a bad mood; what's up?"

"Nothing," she grumbled with a sigh, feeling silly and fighting off the urge to argue with him for the fun of it. It would only spike her attitude even more. As they approached the top floor, their stop, Kagome lost the battle with herself. "Hey, boss, you should really get that cranial rectal problem checked out."

The elevator doors slid open with a joyful _ding_ as Inuyasha stared at his secretary. Within seconds, understanding flooded his eyes. "Hey, what did you just—?"

"Sorry, boss," Kagome cut him off, shoving him out of the elevator and jabbing the button to close the doors faster. "Just remembered that I got to, uhm, go to the fifth floor for… something. Bye!"

Inuyasha stormed into his office and picked up his phone, dialing Sesshoumaru's extension. As soon as his brother answered the phone, Inuyasha shouted incredulously, "Kagome just insulted me! She asked about my cranial rectal problem—that means I have my head stuck up my ass, doesn't it?"

"What a surprise," Sesshoumaru commented dryly. "You do have a brain." With that, he hung up, infuriating the younger Youkai brother even more.

* * *

Having successfully insulted Inuyasha even before her first cup of coffee, Kagome was cheerful again by noon. She skipped off the elevator at Inuyasha's floor. Minutes earlier, she had gotten off the phone with Sango after convincing the brunette to join her on Ayame's girls' night out.

Slowing to a walk, Kagome considered Inuyasha's closed office door, wondering if she should apologize to him. He hadn't really deserved it, after all.

Her musing were interrupted when she realized that she could hear two voices on the other side, one female and one Inuyasha's. Curious, Kagome pressed her ear to the door and eavesdropped, feeling only a little guilty. She and Inuyasha were on good terms, and she didn't really want to risk that, but at the same time… Well, Kagome was an inquisitive (read: nosy) person. In the back of her mind, she remembered the last time she'd listened in on a private conversation from outside a closed office door—that time had ended with two murders and her running for her life. What were the chances of it happening again?

The door creaked open as soon as she put any weight on it; Kagome peered inside through the crack.

"Poor _Inuyasha_," a skimpily dressed woman cooed, perched on the corner of the office desk with her long, naked legs crossed at the ankle. "Everyone being so mean to him!" she sympathized, her red lips pouting. A moment later, the stranger hopped off the desk and came to stand behind Inuyasha, massaging his shoulders while she leaned in close to the man's ear to whisper something that Kagome missed.

Stunned, Kagome couldn't help thinking, _That slut_. Whether she meant Inuyasha or the woman, she wasn't sure. A second later, she reminded herself that as Inuyasha's friend, she should be happy if he'd met someone. Resolute in her decision to not care, Kagome straightened up to go finish her work. Her movement caught Inuyasha's eye.

"Hey, Kagome," he said, pulling out of the woman's hold and leaping from his chair. He skidded to the door and then through it, racing to catch up to her. "Wait up!"

Already distracted, her mind on the latest assignment Sesshoumaru had given her, Kagome turned around with a confused expression. "Huh?" she asked intelligently.

Egotistically, Inuyasha computed her distraction as jealousy. "Hey, don't worry about Yura. She's just an old girlfriend who stopped by to drop off some files. She works in our Okinawa branch; I met her at a company retreat," he explained in a rambling way, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Isn't it immoral for the boss to date one of his employees?" Kagome wondered aloud, trying to sound like she was teasing him.

"Oh," Inuyasha began, confused by her mostly nonchalant attitude. Hadn't' she been spying on him and stormed off when she saw Yura? "I never really thought about it before." After an awkward pause, he started to tell her more about the intimate details of his three month long fling with Yura Tohatsu, perhaps subconsciously trying to make her jealous. He was so busy listening to the sound of his own voice that he missed it when Kagome walked away to complete her work, noticing only belatedly that he was talking to himself.

* * *

Hours later, Kagome struggled from the elevator back to her desk outside Inuyasha's office. Her arms were piled high with paperwork and folders, and at the worst possible moment, she realized just how badly her nose tickled and needed to be scratched.

"Inu—Inuyasha," she called out hopefully, wishing with all her heart that her boss was in his office and could hear her. "Inuyasha, _please_!"

"Yeah, what is it?" he asked in a frustrated voice, sticking his head out the door.

"Help, please?" Kagome suggested, wrinkling her nose in an awful attempt to make the tickling sensation go away.

"With what?" Inuyasha teased, eyeing the stack of papers cradled in her arms. She was starting to teeter on her heels, her sense of equilibrium off balance.

"Either take the papers or scratch my nose," she demanded, struggling towards her desk.

"Fine," he caved, reaching out to take the stack from her.

She sighed in relief and scratched gratefully at the side of her nose. "Thanks," she told him sincerely, choosing to ignore how long it took him to help her.

Inuyasha dumped the stack on top of her desk. "What's all this?"

"Your homework."

"Excuse me?"

"Have fun staying at work the rest of the night," Kagome told him with a wink, grabbing her jacket and purse. She had just started to walk away when Inuyasha grabbed her elbow to stop her.

"No way!"

Kagome sighed and turned on her heel, expecting to find her boss angry about the paperwork. Instead, he was standing there looking pathetic and pleading. Inuyasha did not, in fact, _enjoy _working (like his brother did), and this amount of work terrified him. Thankfully, he only felt a little weird about Kagome seeing him so pitiable.

"Okay, fine," Kagome said with a dramatic sigh, actually thinking he looked cuter than he did when he was acting all arrogant. "Give me half."

"Thank you," he actually said, smacking a chaste kiss to her cheek, stunning her, and snatching a smile pile to bring back with him to his office. Kagome stared after him, slowly raising a hand to her cheek and letting the tips of her fingers linger there.

* * *

Kagome flashed her driver's license (the fake 'Kagome Shashu' one that Miroku had given her almost three weeks earlier) and was waved in by the bouncer. The overly-muscled man seemed much more interesting in her black mini-skirt and tight tank-top than her age, but she decided to take it as a compliment. Immediately, she ordered a strawberry daiquiri from the bar and then looked around for her friends.

"Kagome, you're here!" Sango greeted, grabbing the girl's arm tightly. "Let's dance!"

Kagome barely had time to set down her drink before being dragged into the mass of writhing, sweating bodies. Dimmed lights and pounding music—not to mention alcohol— loosened her up a little bit, and she called over the loud beat to the brunette, "After all that work, this is my reward!" Kagome threw out her arms and twirled around in emphasis.

"Exactly," Sango agreed with a whoop of excitement, despite having not heard a single word.

After a few more songs, the two pushed and shoved their way back to the table. Panting in their seats, they chatted with the other five women: Ayame, Nazuna, Mayu Ikeda (Ayame's neighbor), and Momiji and Botan (two other women who worked at Inutaisho Company).

"Hey, Kagome!" someone greeted her in a low, growly kind of voice; Kagome felt a strong arm wrap around her waist, and when she twisted around in the grasp, she found piercing ice-blue eyes.

"Kouga!" she screamed excitedly, throwing her arms around his neck.

Kouga chuckled. "I wouldn't mind being greeted like this _every_ time I ran into you."

"Shouldn't you still be in the hospital and not at a night club?" Kagome pulled back, afraid to hurt the man. His bruises were faded and yellow and barely noticeable. His cast, stark white, glowed purple in the black light.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," contributed an overly-cocky voice. Low and behold, Inuyasha materialized out of the crowd at Kouga's elbow with a grinning Miroku at his heels.

Dismissively, Kouga shrugged. "Nothing can keep me down for long."

Officially in a great mood, Kagome greeted the two new arrivals with a nod before turning back to her old high school friend. "You have no idea how good it is to see you feeling better!" she told him sincerely.

Kouga offered her his elbow, and the two bounded off for the dance floor. Watching them go, Inuyasha scowled.

"Sango?" Miroku asked with a charming smile. Without waiting for her answer, he grabbed the brunette's hand and pulled her to her feet, twirling her around as he did so. "Let's dance."

Before Inuyasha had a chance to feel left out, a husky, female voice greeted from behind him, "Hey, babe."

"Yura," Inuyasha acknowledged, raising his eyebrows at her chosen outfit of a red tube top and micro shorts that could probably pass for underwear. She looked great, don't get him wrong, but wasn't she chilly in that getup?

As Yura opened her mouth to say something, they were interrupted when Kagome ran over with a wide smile. "Don't mind me, I'm just borrowing your date," she said with a laugh, nodding at Inuyasha.

Her boss, thinking she meant to dance with him, smirked and stepped forward.

"Thanks." Kagome surprised him with a wink as she grabbed Yura's hand. "This is a wild song, and Yura looks like a great dancer!"

His confident smirk slipped right off his face. "Sure," Inuyasha mumbled, stunned.

Kagome flashed him another grin and dragged a laughing Yura behind her back onto the dance floor.

"That was great! Did you see the look on his face? Egotistical jerk," Yura purred as she swayed to the music.

Kagome giggled. "He deserved it! He's always rude to me." Kagome hesitated before adding quickly, "At _work_."

Yura nodded, twirling her hair with one hand as she shimmied.

Inuyasha scowled as he watched the two women dance, deciding that it looked like Kagome had yet another new ally— his ex-girlfriend. _Could be worse_, he thought reasonably. Yura was one of his favorite exes; at least they were still friends even after their messy breakup a year earlier. Granted, Yura was also a very friendly ex.

He just hoped the women didn't do that thing where they gossiped, damaging his ego.

Three hours later, he regretted his decision to not interfere in their new friendship.

"And then, Inuyasha _dropped_his towel," Yura was saying, licking ice cream from her lips. They had retired to the ice cream parlor after the night club to cool off and wind down.

"In front of all those cameras?" Kagome started to giggle uncontrollably, and Sango and Miroku soon joined her. Having had a few too many drinks, Kagome started to slide off her barstool during her laughing fit.

Inuyasha, frowning at the story, snaked an arm around her waist to help support the slightly drunk female. Somehow he'd managed to be the only one who hadn't had too much to drink.

Yura smirked and winked. "Front page news for a _week_. Great pictures, though. Very _flattering _onesof him, if you know what I mean."

"Where was I? I don't remember hearing about this," Kagome asked, amazed that she hadn't seen the pictures or tabloid stories. Her alcohol-sluggish brain kicked into high gear, trying to figure out where she was when this had all gone down three years earlier. After some strenuous thinking, she realized out loud, "Oh, yeah, I was with Naraku. He probably got rid of those."

"Got rid of what?" Yura asked, ignoring the uneasy looks of the other three.

"Any magazines or newspapers that might have had the story or pictures. He didn't like me reading them; said they showed me too much of the world or something."

"Naraku?" Yura echoed, her eyebrows arching high in confusion.

"The love of my life," Kagome muttered, and her eyes clouded over. Whether from sadness, anger, confusion, or love, the others couldn't tell.

"Oh! Do tell," Yura squealed, leaning forward excitedly. She loved a good story. Really, she was a romantic at heart. Inuyasha's quickly darkening scowl and tense shoulders didn't seem to register to Yura.

Kagome gave the woman a weak smile. "Long, silky hair—inky black. Soft waves, too. A great toned muscular body. Classic features. But his eyes…" Kagome trailed off, her eyes on the table, downcast.

"What about them?" Yura prodded, loving the description. She had a thing for guys with long hair.

Kagome tilted her head in thought, remembering. "Dark, almost red."

Yura licked her lips seductively. "Not bad, Kagome. Not bad at all."

Kagome managed a quivering smile before promptly passing out in Inuyasha's arms.

* * *

The next morning, Kagome woke up with a pounding headache, a dry, scratching throat, and the worst taste in her mouth that she had ever had. After several confused seconds, she frowned when she realized that she was tucked into bed and wearing her nightgown; she didn't remember changing out of her party clothes.

When she finally managed to drag herself into the kitchen, having hastily tied a robe around her body, she glared at the man she found sitting at the counter. Inuyasha was innocently stirring a cup of extra-strong coffee. He nudged it in her direction when she collapsed in a chair next to him, and she noticed that his usual smirk was replaced by his just-as-usual scowl. "Sesshoumaru took the kids to the zoo; he said something about protecting them from your wrath."

Kagome wrapped her fingers around the burning coffee cup and winced. "I remember the last time the boys were promised a trip to the zoo."

Inuyasha's scowl depended. "Kagome," he began in a dead-serious, very worried tone of voice.

Kagome's eyes flickered to the window and then finally back to the man sitting next to her, realizing by his angry expression that she must have said something disturbing while under the effects of the alcohol.

"How did I end up in my nightgown?" she asked, switching the subject to something she could handle, something that didn't have to do with whatever had made him look at her in that way.

Inuyasha was unfazed and answered, "I put you in it." He paused, but then tried again in that same concerned voice, "Kagome…"

Closing her eyes to brace herself, she responded, "Yes, Inuyasha?"

"The way you talked last night," Inuyasha's serious voice cracked just slightly, "It sounds like you are still completely, hopelessly in love with Naraku."

Kagome frowned and brought her eyebrows together, thinking hard about the night before. From what she remembered from the conversation in the ice cream parlor, she hadn't said anything that would give Inuyasha that impression. For several seconds, Kagome toyed with the idea of defending her so-called 'love of her life,' but decided against it.

Finally, she settled for the ever articulate, "Hn," as her response.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her as she looked down at her folded hands set delicately in her lap. He knew the girl had some emotional issues, but to be screwed up so badly to still love that _asshole_ was going too far.

A very large part of him ached to hear Kagome say that she didn't love Naraku.

Startled, he tried to examine that feeling. In the end, he concluded that if Kagome admitted to not loving Naraku, it would be easier to protect her from him. It seemed like the reasonable answer, but not completely true.

Kagome blinked rapidly to keep any tears at bay and glanced at everything in the room, everything but Inuyasha's very intense eyes. "Inuyasha," she began weakly. She was thinking about telling him she just didn't know what to tell him but ended up surprising herself with what she did eventually say. "I don't, okay? I don't love him, not anymore. I-I think I only just figured it out, alright?"

To her horror, she actually started to cry again. It was like reality had shifted yet again once she acknowledged the fact that she didn't love Naraku—and just maybe she never did.

"I don't love him," she repeated in an awed voice. "I don't love him, yet I put everyone through all of this when I could have just stopped it!"

Kagome leapt up, no longer sure of herself or anything else.

Inuyasha watched her run from the room with a mixture of worry and relief, but he didn't go after her.

* * *

_I don't, okay? _

_I don't love him, not anymore. _

_I-I think I only just figured it out, alright?_

_I don't love him. _

_I don't love him, yet I put everyone through all of this when I could have just stopped it!_

Her admissions just kept running through her troubled mind as she tried to sleep that.

"So why did I stay with him?" she asked herself, her heart aching.

Because he used to be sweet… but only for the first few months of dating. After they moved in together, he had become so controlling. She was forced to stop all communication with friends and family outside of his. Although he let her keep Souta and Shippou, they were hardly a threat to his superiority and authority over her. Naraku picked her clothes out to make sure she never wore anything too 'revealing.' Kagome had to call in every time she went to a new place, even if she was only going for groceries.

Then he had begun to beat her just a year earlier. The first beating had been quick and furious, and the hospital visit right afterward was the only one she had to endure because of their confrontations. Every beating after that first time, it was only bruises and cuts that could easily be covered by make-up or clothes. At work, no one knew, because Kagome always stayed so _cheerful_ on the outside. Even if any of her coworkers had found out, Naraku was the one that got her that job in the first place—he could have just as easily gotten her fired.

Now, Kagome realized just how fake that cheerful façade had been, ever since she first moved in with Naraku and the relationship went south. One day, she swore, one day she'd be as happy as she used to be before Naraku.

Crawling out from under the blankets, she ran a hand through her hair, her fingers easily becoming entangled in the knots. She adjusted her flannel pajamas, killing time as she tried to work the nerve up required for what she was about to do.

Padding into the hallway, she shoved open Inuyasha's bedroom door.

As though sensing her there, he grunted in his sleep. Kagome stumbled to a stop, blushing at the sight of his bare chest, visible since his sheets were pushed down to his waist. Fending off her embarrassment, she came forward and tapped him on the shoulder.

He grunted again.

Kagome sat on the far edge of the bed.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?" he grumbled groggily, struggling to crack open an eyelid.

"I was scared."

His eyes snapped open.

"I'm still scared," Kagome continued, her voice hushed.

"What?" he sat up and stretched, feeling his joints pop. "Did you have another nightmare? Hey, don't worry, you're not alone."

Kagome turned to face him straight on. "I'm sorry," she told him sincerely, reaching out to gently press her hand to his blanket-covered knee.

"What?"

"I'm sorry I'm scared. I should have fixed everything myself and never gotten anyone else involved in my mess. He was just so _sweet_ at first, and I couldn't help feeling relieved that someone might love me. When he started acting weird, controlling, I ignored it, hoping it would go back to normal, and I could actually fall in love with him for real." Kagome choked on the words as she poured out all she had finally realized. "When it got worse, all I could do was hope it would get better, but then it got to the point where I was scared he'd hurt someone I loved if I left him." Her voice grew frantic, but she fought to keep her breathing steady. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha, that I was too scared to do what needed to be done. Forgive me? Please?"

"Of course, Kagome," he said, pulling her to him and holding on tight.

"I'm… I'm going to go back to bed now," she mumbled into his shoulder, giving him one last squeeze before pulling away and retreating from the room as quickly as she'd come in.

As Inuyasha tried to drift back to sleep, he could still hear her sweet voice echoing in his mind. _Forgive me. Please. Forgive me._

_Please._

**Next Chapter: Kisses and Teasing**


	16. Kisses and Teasing

This somewhat short and fluffy chapter is meant to be light-hearted and not taken too seriously.

Edited: 7/18/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Sixteen: Kisses and Teasing

* * *

_In the middle of the night, Inuyasha and Kagome were sitting on her bed, talking. Or they had been. Now, both drifted off into a thoughtful silence, looking around her bedroom in the dark. He was sitting cross-legged while she was perched on her knees, picking at a loose thread with her fingers. The house was quiet around them._

_After several seconds, Kagome licked her dry lips nervously. "Inuyasha?" she whispered quietly to the young man in front of her, avoiding meeting his eyes._

_"Yeah, Kagome?"_

_"What are we?" she asked as her eyes, still averted from his, landed on his lips instead. He was only a few inches away from her, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his body._

_"Yes?" Inuyasha urged her since she sounded like she hadn't completed her thought. He leaned forward a little to better catch her diminishing words. The man watched as Kagome nibbled on her bottom lip, drawing his attention to her mouth, and her blue eyes glazed over as if she were in a trance._

_"I…" she started vaguely, trailing off again, unable to say more than that single word._

_It felt like some unknown force was tugging her toward the man across from her, and Kagome slowly began to lean forward. Inuyasha inched towards her, too, rapidly closing the distance between them._

_"Kagome?" he whispered, his warm breath brushing against her cheeks._

_She ignored his questioning tone and leaned forward to capture his lips, relishing in the thought of kissing him. And just as they touched…_

Kagome woke up.

* * *

Kagome ran a hand through her damp hair while fighting off a yawn. Making her way slowly towards the kitchen, she wondered how she was still so chilly even with sweatpants and a sweatshirt on; she decided that she needed to talk to Inuyasha about getting a more efficient heater for his giant house.

Kagome suddenly blushed at even the idea of his name, feeling silly because she'd only thought it in her mind. The dream that had startled her awake early that morning was a nice change from her usual nightmares, but it still left her feeling restless, confused, and—yes—worried.

In the kitchen, she found the room mostly empty except for Sesshoumaru. Kagome sat on a stool next to her older boss, bringing her legs up to her chest and wrapping a trembling arm around them. She laid her cheek on top of her knees. "Why are up s-so early on a S-Sunday, Sesshoumaru?" she stuttered around her chattering teeth.

The elder Youkai brother spared the freezing girl a glance before turning his full attention back on the business section of the newspaper. "This Sesshoumaru needs to go into work to finish up a project." Kagome chuckled openly at his imitation of Rin's speech, speaking of himself in the third person.

"No offense, but I'm surprised I don't see my breath in here," Kagome muttered, feeling only a little ashamed of hinting that she was disappointed in how they were running their household. On one hand, she was a guest and should be grateful to have a home at all. On the other hand, she was _freezing_.

"It's not that cold, but I'll turn the thermostat up," Inuyasha told her as he walked into the room, reaching for the coffee pot with one hand and a mug with the other. "Hand me the comics."

Kagome glanced at him quickly before blushing furiously, averting her eyes. Inuyasha looked up in time to notice the pink warming her cheeks, confusing her embarrassment with shame over how she'd acted in the middle of the night, apologizing to him like she had. He sat down on her other side and snatched the funnies from the pile in front of Sesshoumaru, just as the older man stood up to leave.

"Bye, Sesshoumaru," Kagome called after his quickly retreating back. The house was silent again as soon as they heard the front door slam shut; it was nice that the rest of the household was sleeping in. She reached for the coffee pot, hoping a nice steaming cup would warm her up some.

"I'll get that; you're shaking too much to pour steady," Inuyasha muttered, trying hard to be polite and put her at ease after their somewhat awkward yet largely touching moment the night before. His hand brushed hers, and Kagome immediately pulled it back to her chest as though she had been burned by the contact. She bit her bottom lip, struggling against the blush heating her cheeks.

Inuyasha looked up, startled, and frowned at her blush.

Kagome smiled weakly at his attempt to be nice and gratefully began to sip from her mug as though nothing weird was going on.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, his voice soft and questioning.

Reminded of her inappropriate dream, Kagome jerked in surprise and spilled hot coffee all over her hand. "_Ohhh_, ouch!" she hissed, blowing softly on the pink, puckered skin.

Quickly, Inuyasha jumped up and grabbed a washcloth; he ran it under the tap and handed it off to her to cool down her burned flesh. "Sorry," he muttered.

In response to his concern, Kagome blushed fiercer and wrapped her hand in the cloth; her skin felt noticeably better. "Thanks."

"Yeah, uh, sure. Kagome?" he said again, wanting to ask about her apology the night before now that they had some privacy.

Pretending she didn't hear him, Kagome set the mug on the counter with a clatter and got to her feet, aiming to walk right out the kitchen door. The dream was still heavy on her mind, making her extra jumpy. As she walked past, however, Inuyasha grabbed the wrist of her uninjured hand.

Kagome paused and glanced at the hand before raising her gaze up to his chin; she refused to look him in the eyes. Inuyasha just sat there watching with a perplexed expression.

And then, she made one of the biggest mistakes she had ever made in her entire life: she looked a little higher. Her eyes went from his chin to his lips, and then her insides turned to a quivering mess. A ridiculous idea nudged its way to the front of her mind: What would it be like to kiss him? The idea seemed even wilder now than it had immediately after waking from her dream. She just wanted to know; it couldn't do any harm to be curious, right?

Wondering just what was running through his guest's head, Inuyasha scrutinized her. The way she looked at him reminded him of the way a cat looked at bird sitting just within reach. He stood up, not realizing he still gripped her wrist. Kagome followed him with her eyes, the question still plaguing her.

Inuyasha had no idea what happened next, and by the time he did realize it, it was already over.

Kagome took a step forward to close the gap between them and reached up her hand, the one he still held onto, to cup his jaw. Bringing his face down to hers, she pressed her lips to his, her eyes falling closed. Unthinking, he kissed her back just as tenderly; the moment last several moments, and just as things started to get heated…

Kagome pulled back.

She stood there for half a minute, her eyes level with his mouth, unfocused. It hit her just how much taller he was than her, since she was standing on her tip-toes to reach him, yet he was still forced to stood down. Her curiosity satisfied, Kagome licked her lip, patted him distractedly on the cheek, and walked from the room.

Long after she'd left, Inuyasha stood stunned in the kitchen, lightly touching his lips with the pads of several of his fingers as if he could still feel her there.

* * *

Kagome was out in the garden with Rin, helping her pull up the dead plants to prepare for the quick onset of winter. Both were bundled up tight against the chill air, but Kagome found that she was still shivering. She ripped out a dying weed with unnecessary force. "Why?" she accidentally asked herself out loud.

"Why what?" Rin questioned innocently and peered up at the grown-up with wide, inquisitive eyes.

Kagome glanced down at her apologetically, knowing that her cheeks were pink not just from the biting wind. "I just wanted to know why I did something; sorry Rin."

Rin went back to the dirt and mud, getting more on her than she managed to keep off. "…So why _did_Aunt Kagome do it?" Rin asked after a few more minutes of silence, not understanding what 'it' was, yet not really caring that she didn't.

Kagome sighed heavily, letting her hands go slack in her lap. "I guess I was curious."

Rin's smile grew wider. "Curiosity killed the cat!" she responded with a giggle.

"And satisfaction brought it back," Kagome added, laughing. They went back to work, but the question came back to haunt her again. Why? Kagome brushed her worries aside as the answer came to her. _I was curious, just like I told Rin. Plus, I felt like I _needed_ to_, she thought.

Sitting back on her haunches and peering up at the cloudless sky, Kagome followed that train of thought, wanting to fully understand it. She needed to kiss him, because she hadn't been kissed properly in a long time. Naraku was always too cold or too rough with her, and he'd hadn't exactly been affectionate for the past few months. The dream from the early hours of the morning had planted the idea in Kagome's head, and she hadn't been able to shake it. She wouldn't have been able to, either, until she followed through on the thought, sucked it up, and kissed Inuyasha.

"And I was afraid I'd forget what it felt like," she muttered quietly.

"What?"

"Nothing, Rin," Kagome said dismissively and went back to the gardening.

* * *

Inuyasha collapsed, scowling, into his leather chair in his office. Mostly, it went unused. Unlike Sesshoumaru, he was able to keep his personal and work life pretty separate. Well, except for his secretary who currently lived under his roof and apparently occasionally made out with him in the kitchen. What exactly had that been about? She'd kissed him and then wandered off without explanation!

It wasn't a question of whether or not Inuyasha attracted to her—he remembered the first time he laid eyes on her back in his office the night of the parade all those weeks before. It was as obvious then as it was now that Kagome was a beautiful woman.

The problem lay in the fact that they were _friends_. They were also housemates who worked together. It just made things… complicated.

Having Kagome in the house was nice. It was _great_. They shared amusing arguments, she was a good cook, and they got along for the most part. Rin loved her. Sesshoumaru even seemed to like her. Plus, the idea that they were friends; it just sort of put a hold on the whole relationship thing. Kagome needed a friend at the moment.

It had only been a kiss. One, single kiss and absolutely no mention of feelings whatsoever. There was a very good chance that he was reading way too much into everything. For all he knew, Kagome didn't feel any attraction towards him.

After some more deep thinking on the subject, Inuyasha finally came to the conclusion that she had been merely teasing him. They were good as friends; there was no way Kagome would risk that, especially after all the time he had been there for her in the past couple of weeks.

And if she was teasing him, he would just have to tease her back. Still, memories of holding her, of _kissing_ her lingered in his mind.

Of course, he hadn't ever really minded holding her. Not only was she attractive and he enjoyed helping her out, but there was another reason that no one would have guessed.

He had a confession.

"I, Inuyasha, have a problem," he muttered sarcastically to the empty room. "I like to cuddle."

With that, he decided to write off the kitchen incident as Not a Big Deal and move on.

* * *

That night, everyone came together for dinner at the Youkai household, including Miroku, Sango, and her brother. The entire night, Sango peered curiously at both Kagome and Inuyasha; the duo managed to look like absolutely nothing was weird at the same time they sent off waves of _something happened_.

Once dinner was complete, Sesshoumaru rounded up the children and shepherded them from the room, leaving the four friends to their own devices.

"Um, did anything happen this weekend?" Sango finally asked, her curiosity reaching its peak.

Kagome and Inuyasha looked up from their empty plates and shrugged. "Nope," they told her at the same time.

"Right," Sango stated before starting to collect the dishes, still confused.

Miroku followed her into the kitchen, and he rinsed off his own plate while his other hand wandered casually to Sango's backside.

"Anyone want to play Twister?" Miroku suggested nonchalantly.

Sango, having finally noticed that she was being touched, cuffed the man about the ear. "Pervert!" the brunette shouted, forcibly removing his hand.

As the group left the kitchen for one of the three living rooms in the house, Kagome tried to ignore the way Inuyasha was playfully wrapping his arm around her waist and guiding her after the others. He had the oddest look on his face—not like he was being serious, but at least like he was concentrating on some dasteredly plan.

He was, in fact, mapping out how exactly he was going to get Kagome back for the way she'd "teasingly" kissed him that morning.

Several games, and slaps, later the group sat around the coffee table, attempting to figure out a more appropriate game to play after Twister had failed so miserably.

"Truth or dare?" Kagome suggested.

"Too tacky," Miroku commented and wrinkled his nose. "What are we, a bunch of school girls?" Of course then his mind strayed to the idea of high school girls which caused his hand to stray to Sango's thigh. She immediately slapped him with the usual cry of:

"You _pervert_!"

The adults were interrupted when Souta wandered in, eyeing his sister and the others with a shrewd look on his face. Kagome knew that expression; her brother was planning on being trouble.

"You guys want to know a secret?" he asked the other three, resolutely ignoring his older sister.

"About what?" Inuyasha asked.

"About Kagome." When everyone nodded (even Kagome kept her mouth shut, trying to figure out where Souta was going with this), he said, "Did you know that I think that Kagome has a cr—?"

"SOUTA!"

Honestly, Souta enjoyed being a pest. He watched his sister's eyes widen in realization of what he'd been about to admit to all her new friends. Lately, he'd been happy to see Kagome smiling and joking like she had back in high school. Today, although she had been acting weird around Inuyasha, she seemed almost like her old self. As though she'd gotten rid of a huge weight on her shoulders, Kagome's mood had evened out, and she seemed far less angry and paranoid that she had while with Naraku.

The way Inuyasha had been eyeing Kagome all day, Souta had a feeling the man had something to do with it.

"Hey, Souta?" Kagome asked sweetly, her face deceptively cheerful.

"Yeah?" Souta responded, trying to decide whether or not he should be worried.

"RUN!"

The other three adults watched in amusement as the woman chased her brother around the room for several minutes, laughing the entire time. Kagome ended up tackling him back in the living room. Once Souta was pinned down, she began to tickle him mercilessly.

"_Kagome_!" Shippou squealed as he joined the fray, siding with Souta. The boys turned the tide against Kagome, tickling her sides until she was giggling so hard, she cried.

"Hey, we'll see you guys tomorrow," Sango called, grabbing her purse.

"I'll walk you out," Miroku suggested, following the brunette from the room. "Bye, guys!"

Left alone with the three immature Higurashis, Inuyasha walked over and pulled the boys off the young woman. On her back, Kagome eyed him warily and almost jerked in surprise when he suddenly straddled her stomach and pinned her arms to her sides with his knees. Inuyasha leaned down until they were nose-to-nose.

"Now," he whispered and the other two boys tickled her.

In under a minute, they had Kagome yelling for mercy.

Kagome shoved the man off of her and sent the boys to bed. Inuyasha was laughing from his seat on the floor. "That was fun," he commented with a smirk.

Kagome rolled her eyes, but refused to respond to that. "Good night Inuyasha, I'm heading in. I'm pretty tired."

"Yeah, okay; me, too."

When Kagome walked past him towards the entryway, she leaned down so that her lips brushed his ear. "Thanks for this morning," she whispered, and he could feel her grinning against his skin.

Inuyasha closed his eyes as he waited for her to leave. It surprised him when he felt the soft press of her lips against his cheek.

By the time he opened his eyes again, she was already gone.

* * *

_In the middle of the night, Inuyasha and Kagome were sitting on her bed, talking. Or they had been. Now, both drifted off into a thoughtful silence, looking around her bedroom in the dark. He was sitting cross-legged while she was perched on her knees, picking at a loose thread with her fingers. The house was quiet around them._

_After several seconds, Kagome licked her dry lips nervously. "Inuyasha?" she whispered quietly to the young man in front of her, avoiding meeting his eyes._

_"Yeah, Kagome?"_

_"What are we?" she asked as her eyes, still averted from his, landed on his lips instead. He was only a few inches away from her, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his body. _

_"Yes?" Inuyasha urged her since she sounded like she hadn't completed her thought. He leaned forward a little to better catch her diminishing words. The man watched as Kagome nibbled on her bottom lip, drawing his attention to her mouth, and her blue eyes glazed over as if she were in a trance. _

_"I…" she started vaguely, trailing off again, unable to say more than that single word._

_It felt like some unknown force was tugging her toward the man across from her, and Kagome slowly began to lean forward. Inuyasha inched towards her, too, rapidly closing the distance between them._

_"Kagome?" he whispered, his warm breath brushing against her cheeks._

_She ignored his questioning tone and leaned forward to capture his lips, relishing in the thought of kissing him. Soon, his hands were tangled in her hair while hers were pressed tight against his chest._

And then Kagome woke up to Inuyasha shaking her shoulder.

"What?" she asked groggily, rolling over onto her back to peer up at him, the feel of him from her dream making her hands tingle.

"I had a nightmare; can I sleep with you?" Inuyasha pleaded in a pathetic imitation of a little boy.

"Shut up and quit making fun of Shippou!" Kagome grumbled, closing her eyes tightly against the sight of him laughing.

"Sorry," he murmured.

"Oh, I'm sure you are."

Since she hadn't exactly turned him down, Inuyasha crawled onto the bed and stretched out next to her, sharing her pillow. "Why'd you kiss me?" he asked. The nighttime made it feel like it was safe to ask anything. It was during the night that they had shared all those other intimate moments, when Kagome had been so vulnerable.

Kagome yawned, turning her head away from him, away from his prying eyes. "Because I felt like it."

Inuyasha grunted dismissively. "That's what I thought." He felt Kagome nod next to his head. "Good night, Kagome."

"Good ni—wait, you're not actually going to sleep in here, are you?" Kagome whispered fiercely. Inuyasha just smirked before rolling on his side and wrapping his arms around Kagome's waist, pulling her close. It was, he decided, good revenge for that morning. Icing on the cake was that he was actually enjoying his little act of revenge.

Kagome mentally threw her hands up. "Ass," she snapped, allowing herself to start to fall back asleep.

Inuyasha smiled. "Bitch."

Soon, they were both sleeping.

At some point during the night, Inuyasha moved closer to his heat source, finally realizing just how cold the house really was. Kagome cracked an eye open. "Would you stop squirming, Naraku?" she hissed, her voice heavy with sleep.

The arms stiffened around her at the name.

It dawned on her that Naraku had never been much of a snuggler, and Kagome's mind immediately jumped to who could possibly be in her bed, _holding _her. Panicking, she started to open her mouth to scream, but she was cut off when something clamped down hard on her lips. She could barely see the outline of a hand in the dark.

Fiercely, Inuyasha whispered, "Shut up! Do you _want_to wake up the whole house?"

His hand removed itself, and Kagome's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. But the last man who—"

"I know." Inuyasha pulled her closer, still half asleep, burying his face in her hair.

Kagome stiffened. Since when was Inuyasha so understanding? Forcing herself to relax and try to go back to sleep, she remembered that he was her _friend _and not the enemy. "I'm sorry for kissing you," she mumbled uncertainly.

"S'okay; I didn't mind," Inuyasha whispered. She smiled vaguely and curled in tighter against his side. "Night, Kagome."

"Night, Inuyasha."

"Hey Kagome?"

"Yeah?"

"I forgive you."

"Thank you."

* * *

"It's time," Naraku told Kagura emotionlessly. She had no other choice than to nod and begin the plan.

**Next Chapter: The Phone Call**


	17. The Phone Call

Have faith.

Edited: 7/18/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Seven: The Phone Call

* * *

The next morning, Kagome was forced awake by the bright sunshine slipping through her blinds and slanting across her eyes. With a groan, she scrunched up her face and turned away, burying her nose in her pillow. Although Kagome had a cheerful disposition most of the day, she had never been a morning person. She untangled herself from Inuyasha, who continued to snore, and decided to let him fend for himself if he was going to make it to work on time.

After taking her steaming hot shower, her morning wake up call, Kagome sneaked back into her room, only wearing a towel. Keeping as quiet as possible to avoid waking Inuyasha and causing an even more awkward situation, she picked out her outfit for the day.

Riffling through all the expensive blouses and skirts, she thought bitterly, _Screw it_. Grabbing a pair of jeans, a tank top, and a red zip-up jacket, she crept back out of the room to change into her clothes in the bathroom.

When she entered the kitchen ten minutes later, Sesshoumaru didn't say a word about her outfit selection. He chose not to comment on the fact that she worked as secretary to two extremely rich men in an office building while—a job that didn't exactly scream _blue jeans are acceptable_. It just didn't seem like a fight worth picking.

* * *

"Hey, Kagome!"

"Good morning, Kagome!"

On her way to the elevator, Kagome waved and smiled back at all her coworkers, returning their greetings. A weekend of soul searching had left her feeling lighter and more confident than she had in ages. That morning seemed much brighter than any others had felt in the past few years.

Stepping into the elevator, she jabbed the button for the top floor and rode up while smiling and chatting with the people around her. The world seemed open to her as she walked to her primary desk outside Inuyasha's office. She had a job, her son, her brother, money, clothes, and a roof over her head. It was so easy to imagine living out the rest of her life as Kagome Shashu. Naturally, she'd buy a new house; who'd want to live with Inuyasha all their lives?

Then again, the more she thought about it, the more Kagome realized what was missing in her new life in Tokyo. Her friends, Mama, her grandfather, and even the shrine she'd grown up on still struck a longing in her. She also missed her old clothes and personal possessions, like her yellow bike.

Kagome also wanted Naraku gone.

To distract herself, Kagome picked up the phone and dialed a number, waiting to hear the voice of at least one important person from her old life.

"Hello?"

"Kouga? Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked once her friend had answered the phone. He'd recently returned to Kyoto to continue recovering.

"Much better. Your mom is doing well, and so are Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi."

"Glad to hear it," she murmured, feeling homesick.

"Hey, listen. I have to go, but we'll talk soon. I promise," Kouga told her quickly when there was a knocking in the background.

"Sure thing. Talk to you soon. Bye!"

Setting the receiver back in its cradle, Kagome leaned back into her chair. The only thing that could pick her mood back up was the fact that her office chair had wheels on the bottom.

That's how Inuyasha found her twenty minutes later: spinning on a chair, doing wheelies, in his front of his office.

* * *

Jaken was at it again, and Sesshoumaru was not happy.

"Jaken. Leave," he commanded in his most authoritative voice—which was, considering Sesshoumaru, _very _authoritative.

Kagome seriously doubted that the toad-man had ears when Jaken continued to lavish his boss with overwhelming praise. Almost in desperation, Sesshoumaru glanced at his secretary who was standing behind his 'retainer' (as Jaken called himself).

With a silent laugh, Kagome hooked fingers in her mouth and pulled her lips to the side and crossed her eyes at Jaken's back. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her antics, but naturally kept a straight face. Then, Kagome reached up and grabbed the bottom of each earlobe. She twisted them, and as though they were some kind of lever, her tongue stuck out. In response, Sesshoumaru's jaw tightened, and his secretary assumed he was fighting the urge to laugh at her.

Abruptly, Jaken shut his mouth, eyeing his boss's odd expression before spinning on his heel to face the secretary. Automatically, Kagome's face widened into a sweet and innocent smile, and she clasped her hands in front of her.

Jaken glared at the young woman before deciding he could praise his _lord _later.

Kagome smirked at her boss while laying down an accounting file before skipping back out to her desk.

Once out of view of his secretary, Sesshoumaru allowed himself a small smile

* * *

That evening, Kagome collapsed onto the couch next to Sango.

"How was your day?" Sango asked pleasantly while sipping tea.

"You know, I actually had a lot of fun today. It was also nice to wear jeans to work for once. Oh, hey, you'll never guess what happened today!"

"What?"

"No, you have to guess!" Kagome told her friend with a scolding finger wag, not willing to give in so easily.

"A pink hippo sat on Sango's homemade fruitcake at the office, and it was so hard that it dented the hippo's butt, so the hippopotamus is now suing the Inutaisho Company for damages," Miroku suggested as he walked in, taking his seat on Sango's other side.

Kagome pouted. "Be serious!"

"Kagome! Just tell us," Sango chided with a laugh.

"I made Sesshoumaru smile!"

"Kagome! You told us to be serious, so why can't you?" the brunette muttered with an eye roll. The very idea of Sesshoumaru smiling…!

"I _am_serious!" Kagome explained, grinning wildly. "He didn't think I saw him, but I did! It was a little more of a smirk than a smile, I guess."

The three friends descending into a bout of chuckles until Sango's phone began to ring. The brunette groaned.

"I don't want to answer that," Sango muttered, too comfortable to get up.

With a laugh, Kagome stood up and answered the telephone for her. "Hello! Taijai residence. … _Who _is this?… Oh, hi, Inuyasha; I didn't recognize your voice at first! Miroku just got here. … I'm sorry to hear that. _… _Yeah, I'll tell them. _… _Sure, it's no problem; I'll be right there. _…_See you soon!" With that, she hung up.

"Hey, Sango!" she hollered back into the living room.

"What?"

"That was Inuyasha. He said he just got an avalanche of paperwork and can't make it tonight. He asked if I could head back into the office and help out," Kagome explained as she reentered the room, an apologetic look on her face. "Looks like you're two short of an actual dinner party. He says he's really sorry, and so am I. Do you mind just eating with Miroku tonight?"

The brunette avoided looking at either of her friends, her cheeks a little pink with a blush. "No, that's totally fine. I don't mind."

"Oh, good; hopefully we can get back here right after dinner, and we can still make that movie." Kagome glanced outside. "It's so dark! I didn't realize it was so late already."

Sango glanced at the clock. "Wow, I can't believe it's already almost eight. We must have lost track of time waiting for Inuyasha."

With a smile, Kagome shrugged dismissively. She smothered a laugh as Sango swatted at Miroku when his hand got too close to her backside; it was as if it was second nature. "Can I borrow a car?" Kagome asked.

"Sure; keys are still in the kitchen."

"Thanks!" Kagome winked at the two (and Sango pretended to not notice just like she was pretending to not notice how Miroku had slid an arm behind her along the back of the couch). "Have a good dinner, you two."

* * *

Inuyasha was shrugging on his coat, the same one Kagome had snatched from him when she had run away a week earlier, when the telephone rang. He sighed, catching sight of the clock and realizing that it was already half past eight at night. He was supposed to be at Sango's more than an hour earlier; she was going to be _pissed_that he'd missed dinner.

Picking up receiver, he grunted to show the person he was listening.

"You shouldn't have kissed her, Inuyasha Youkai."

Stunned, Inuyasha's grip tightened on the phone until he heard the plastic creak with the force. "Who the hell is this?" he growled, his eyes searching the kitchen around him as though the caller would step into the room, revealing himself.

"That's not a very nice way to treat Kagome's friend, is it?"

His frustration growing, Inuyasha demanded loudly, "Who the _fuck _is this?"

The man on the other end of the line chuckled darkly. "Inuyasha… Does it really matter? You shouldn't have kissed her," the man repeated, his voice low and angry.

"What kiss?"

"_Shut up_! Kagura saw you through your kitchen window and reported the incident directly to me," the caller sneered.

Inuyasha made a strangled noise deep in his throat. "Naraku. Now listen to me, you son of a bitch! Don't you dare lay a hand on Kagome. _Don't touch her_."

"Kagome is mine, Inuyasha." Naraku suddenly sighed as though he was disappointed, his breath loud in Inuyasha's ear. "I'll have her back, soon. Kagome will be right where she belongs, and you can do nothing to stop it."

"What are you talking about? Where's Kagome? She better be safe, do you hear me?" he shouted into the phone. His only answer was a dial tone. He slammed the phoned back down on the cradle, pounding his fist into the wall and cracking the plaster. "_Damn it_!"

Running a hand through his hair, Inuyasha raced out the front door, grabbing his car keys from the front hall table as he passed. He hopped into the convertible, and the engine roared to life. Driving like a madman, he sped all the way to Sango's house— the place where Kagome _should _currently be.

He was cursing himself for staying late at his house, finishing up some paperwork in Sesshoumaru's office. He should have kept an eye on the clock and not been late for dinner. For all he knew, Naraku was sneaking up behind Kagome at that very second.

With tires squealing and the smell of burnt rubber lingering in the air, Inuyasha pulled into the driveway in front of Sango's house.

* * *

Kagome glanced at the clock on the dashboard as she pulled into the Inutaisho Company's employee parking lot, which looked deserted.

8:35 PM

Quickly, she clambered from the car and hurried towards the front door, hoping Inuyasha wasn't mad that she'd taken so long to get there. On her way, Kagome had noticed that the gas was running low, so she stopped to fill the tank. She shivered because of the chilly breeze, filling winter on the air.

Humming , Kagome used a swipe card to enter the building, which was locked down tight. She took her time walking through the lobby and main floor, coming to a stop at the elevator. She jabbed the button, but decided that she should take the stairs instead. It seemed healthier; plus, the idea of getting stuck in the elevator in an empty building at night gave her the creeps.

* * *

"Sango! Miroku!" Inuyasha shouted, racing through the front door and towards the living room. He was so frantic that he didn't notice how close his best friends were sitting, or the way that Miroku had his arm around the brunette, and she wasn't slapping it away.

"Inuyasha? What's wrong?"

"Where's Kagome! Is she in the kitchen? I have to talk to her! Naraku's planning some—!" Inuyasha stumbled to a stop he noticed the wide-eyed looks of confusion on his friends' faces.

"What are you doing here, Inuyasha?" Sango snapped, standing up to put her fists on her hips. "Kagome's going to be so mad at you."

"For what— What'd I do? Where is she?"

"Kagome went all the way out there to meet you," Miroku scolded him.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Starting to realize that something was wrong, Sango eyed him up and down, noting how frazzled and upset he was. He was breathing hard, and his eyes kept flicking around the room, searching for something. "Inuyasha, where were you at eight o'clock?"

Inuyasha scowled, ticked off that Kagome might be in trouble yet his friends were asking about his schedule. "At home in the study. I had some work to catch up on. Sesshoumaru was supposed to call and let you guys know that I'd be late," he snapped.

Sango went wide-eyed and exchanged an anxious look with Miroku. "No you weren't," she told Inuyasha sternly. "You were calling Kagome to come in and help you out at the office."

"No," Inuyasha countered, still confused about where this was going. "I was _home_. I've been there since late afternoon."

_Now_Miroku wasn't calm, and the normally collected man started to tug at his hair nervously, shuffling his feet. "Son of a bitch!" he muttered, startling both of his friends. "Kagome went out to meet you at eight. She's been gone for forty minutes!"

Inuyasha was completely confused by this point. "Damn it! Would you mind making sense?"

Miroku took a deep breath, struggling to straighten out his thoughts and convey how serious the situation was to the others. "At eight o'clock tonight, someone called here. Kagome answered and told us it was you, at work, and she was heading out there to help you… or the "you" that called her." Here, Miroku glared at Inuyasha when the other man tried to interrupt. "However, you were at home, in your study. You did not make the call and apparently Naraku is up to something?"

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied slowly. "He just called me at my house, being an asshole."

Sango went pale. "That means it must have been someone else calling Kagome! And if Naraku wants her back, he'd have to get her alone. So, Naraku or one of his lackeys must have called her here and pretended to be you."

"So," Inuyasha conluded, "Kagome is out there, alone, thinking she's going to meet me somewhere, and I'm not going to be there, but that monster will be."

"Exactly."

Inuyasha growled low in his throat, wishing he had something breakable in his hands that he could throw at the wall. "I think this is the part of the mystery where I get the hell out of here and go be a fucking knight in shining armor."

With that, Inuyasha ran from the room and shouldered his way through the front door. Sango winced at the obvious dent that would be there if she checked.

Once he was back in his car, Inuyasha floored it.

* * *

Taking the steps one at the time, Kagome mentally scolded herself for forgetting to grab Sango's cell phone, the extra one that the brunette had given her since Kagome couldn't exactly use her own without fear of Naraku tracking her with it. What if her car broke down, and she had needed a ride?

Chewing her lip, Kagome tried to remember the next few notes of the song stuck in her head as she slowly made her way up each flight. Slightly out of breath, she pushed away the eeriness of being in an empty office building at night, climbing up a dark, echoing stairway.

She was mostly distracted by how hot it was. She'd been climbing for almost fifteen minutes, which would make it already 8:50 PM.

* * *

Tokyo was so big that even on a Monday evening, there was traffic. Inuyasha sat impatiently in bumper-to-bumper traffic, just outside the downtown area. He slammed his fist repeatedly on the horn and cursed out every person that blocked his way. Flipping a few elderly drivers off, he scowled as he tried to find a way to get through.

The only good thing was that Kagome would have been stalled by the same traffic jam.

Of course, she'd be at the office by now, hopefully just getting out of her car. He just prayed that the elevator took a very long time to reach the lobby. Glancing around, he noticed how empty the sidewalks were compared to the streets. Closing his eyes and wishing that there was a good reason behind what he was about to do, Inuyasha steered his car over the curb.

He was now driving half on and half off the road. As soon as he passed the worst part of the traffic, he merged back onto the street, ignoring the honking, cursing people he'd left behind.

Barreling down the street at a speed that would make a daredevil proud, Inuyasha got closer to his destination.

Eight miles.

Four miles.

Two miles.

One mile.

Five blocks.

Half a block away…

_There_.

He parked haphazardly next to a car he recognized as one of Sango and bounded out of his convertible. Inuyasha peered up at the office building, studying the wall of windows. Only one floor had its lights on—the top floor, where his office was. Kagome would have seen that, too.  
Scowling, Inuyasha raced into the lobby, heading for the stairs. Using the elevator would alert Naraku to his presence.

Panicking, he threw open the door that led to the seemingly endless flights of stairs that disappeared into the darkness overhead. Maybe, just maybe, if he arrived soon enough, Naraku wouldn't have time to do anything. Kagome couldn't have been there for too long, maybe only twenty minutes. When he checked his watch impatiently, it read 9:03 PM.

There was no telling exactly what Naraku had in mind. The madman wanted both Kagome and the jewel, and unfortunately, Inuyasha had been stupid enough to talk Kagome into wearing the Shikon everywhere she went. It had seemed like a good idea at the time—she could keep an eye on it, and it looked good on her.

He just hoped he could close the half-hour head start Kagome had on him by running up the stairs as quickly as he could.

Too bad fate had other plans in mind.

"Good evening, Inuyasha," a woman drawled in a cool, collected voice from the shadows behind the door.

Inuyasha turned to look into scarlet eyes.

* * *

Just as Inuyasha ran into Kagura at the bottom of the stairwell, Kagome shouldered open the heavy door that led from the stairs to the receptionist's area where her desk was. The bright lights after the dark stairs made her see spots. "Hey, Inuyasha! Let's get to work," she shouted cheerfully, walking through the room; nothing seemed out of place. "If we hurry, maybe we can talk the others into going out and getting some dessert!"

Her cheerful smile slipped a little when she poked her head into his office and found his desk empty. "Huh," she muttered, looking around the room as though she'd find him hiding behind a bookcase. "I guess he had to go get something."

Setting down her purse and unzipping her light jacket after the heat from climbing the stairs, she walked around to the other side of his desk. Kagome laid a hand on the cool glass of the window and leaned against it to look down at the street, far below. Headlights from the passing cars and the streetlights lit up the scene of passersby walking by the front of the office building.

Without warning, a strong arm slipped around her waist from behind and pulled her close to a muscular, obviously masculine chest. Kagome sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Inuyasha. Seriously, stop teasing and let's get some work done," she scolded as she tried to loosen the arm from around her, but it only ended up tightening to the point where it hurt to breathe. "Inuyasha? W-what are you doing?"

The man leaned down and his hot breath tickled her ear, sending warning chills down her spine.

"Guess who, Kagome."

**Next Chapter: The Ledge**


	18. The Ledge

Edited: 7/19/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Eighteen: The Ledge

* * *

Kagome couldn't move.

No matter how much she willed her frozen legs to move, she just couldn't do it. As though glued to the floor, she stayed right where she was, but her mind was a million miles away. All the while, Naraku stood behind her, smirking as if he had already won.

How Kagome _hated_ that smirk. It used to seem so charming and boy, but now it just churned her stomach in disgust when she caught sight of it in the window's reflection. The situation had finally reached the point where, although Kagome blamed herself, she also blamed Naraku just as much. Every nerve-ending, every neuron firing, was telling Kagome the exact same thing—she was screwed.

"Kagome," Naraku whispered almost seductively, again close to her ear. "Would you rather be with Inuyasha than me?" Kagome could hear the pout in his dark voice.

She couldn't stop herself. Apparently hanging around with her rash boss had taught her something, and that "something" was to speak without thinking first. (It was probably not Inuyasha's greatest legacy.) "Of course," she spat, trying hard to sound snide; unfortunately, Kagome's voice was naturally too sweet to sound disarming. "I'd rather be with a _man-eating tiger_ than you!"

Naraku scowled and growled low in his throat, his grip tightening on Kagome so that his fingers dug through her shirt and into her skin. "We'll let that one slide, baby. I know it's only because you're so surprised to see me." He pretended not to notice the indignant noise that Kagome made after he'd said that. "You don't have to be scared, Kagome."

Incredulous, Kagome almost snorted at the very suggestion that she was safe with Naraku.

"I'm not that mad. When you come home with me and hand over the Shikon no Tama, then we can finally be happy again. I want you back, Kagome. I know you _want _to come back, too."

What he was saying outraged Kagome so much that finally managed to move. Summoning what little strength she had, she threw his arms off of her and whipped around to face him. She glared, maneuvering around the desk to put something between them. Although she kept eye contact, she wanted to look around for a weapon.

"No, Naraku. It's not yours! How could you? You killed them for _this_." Here, she made the mistake to yank the jewel out from under the collar of her tank top. "They're dead! How can you act like everything is normal?"

Naraku eyed the jewel carefully, a hungry glint in his eyes. "It looks beautiful on you, Kagome."

"That's not the point," Kagome countered, angrily. She'd liked it when Inuyasha told her that in the ice cream parlor over a week earlier; not when Naraku said it.

Naraku sighed dramatically, managing to make even that small puff of air seem like it had some dark motive behind it. "No, it's not the point; you're right. I need to sell that jewel. But in order to do that, I have to actually _have _it." The man took a threatening step forward, one hand held out as though that would be all the invitation Kagome needed to simply give it to him.

Kagome stepped backwards to brace herself against a bookcase. She looked the man up and down, trying to gauge just how much strength he had over her. He was well-built, just like she remembered. Naraku stood more than a head taller than her, even taller than Inuyasha… which _bugged _the crap out of her right at that moment. She continued studying him, moving her scrutiny to his eyes—which is when she saw it.

Not only did Naraku's eyes contain lust and desire, but they also glinted with something very similar to evil and maybe even insanity.

There was something about him that she didn't recall from just three week earlier, the last time she'd seen him. Kagome leaned forward for a better look, noticing how his eyes were bloodshot and his lips were discolored. His breathing was heavy and ragged; his skin was sallow and waxy looking. Something was clearly wrong with him.

Kagome gasped as realization struck her.

Her ex was on drugs—and more than just a little. It looked like he'd snorted, swallowed, and injected a whole cocktail, and it was definitely not agreeing with him. Everything about the expression on his face and the way he was holding himself screamed how unstable the man was—he was also obviously a lot more violent than he would have been otherwise.

More than a little nervous, Kagome started to glance around the room, looking for a way out. The office was large, but she still felt trapped. It didn't help that this time, Souta, Shippou, and Inuyasha weren't right around the corner, within reach. This time, she was alone.

Naraku didn't miss the way his girlfriend's eyes suddenly brightened with an idea.

Just like the last time they had a confrontation in an office—the last time being when Naraku had brutally murdered two men and knocked her around a little in front of Kagura—he had left the door open and had clearly underestimated her. Kagome dodged Naraku's grasping hands and dashed out into the receptionist's area, hearing thudding footsteps behind her.

* * *

At the same time as Kagome's confrontation on the top floor, Inuyasha was just inside the stairwell by the lobby. He looked the woman up and down, struggling to understand who she was.

Seductively, Kagura smirked at the way he was studying her. "See something you like?"

Inuyasha scoffed openly, pulling an exaggerated look of disgust. "You're not my type."

Instead of being offended, Kagura merely chuckled. "Don't worry, you're not mine either," she informed him with a wink. "No offense, of course."

"None taken."

The two circled each other on the small landing, and Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow at the way she was eyeing him—either like a piece of meat or like a prize fighter. He couldn't put his finger on which. For her part, Kagura was trying to determine just how strong Inuyasha was, if he'd be able to do what needed to be done.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Youkai?"

"You can let me get by you," he growled while cracking his knuckles, making his intent clear.

To his surprise, Kagura let out a bark of laughter. "Down, boy! Naraku's orders were to _stop _you, which… obviously, I've done already. He said nothing about letting you go after a minute or two." Suddenly, she lost her sense of amusement and scowled instead, averting her eyes. "I did what he asked; I don't owe him anything anymore. I am officially done with this," she muttered in a low voice, almost too quietly for him to hear her. Kagura sidestepped, opening up a clear path for Inuyasha up the stairs.

Suspicious, Inuyasha glared at her. "What are you playing at? Only a coward would hit an opponent in the back." He obviously didn't expect her to let him go without a fight.

"Don't be an asshole," Kagura snapped, sneering. "I may be a lot of things, but I am not a coward."

"Again, _what do you want_?"

The two squared off, but Kagura eventually let the tension in her shoulders go slack. It wasn't giving up, not really. She drew in a deep breath and then let it out slowly, closing her eyes in a way that made her seem soft. "What do I want? I want you to hurt him. I want you to save her, and then _hurt _him. Kagome's a good person; she doesn't deserve any of this. Stealing that jewel? She's got more guts than I do."

Inuyasha tried very hard not to gape at her, to let his surprise show.

When he still hadn't budged, Kagura looked him straight in the eye with the most serious expression she could muster. "Please, help her. I tried to warn her before, but she was too stubborn to listen to me. When Naraku set his plan into motion tonight, I didn't have enough time to find a way to stop it. Now that you're here, you can save her. I'll… I'll go get the police."

Deciding that his best bet was to believe her, to trust her, Inuyasha nodded at Kagura resolutely. "Thanks," he muttered quietly, bounding past her and up the stairs.

* * *

Trying to maintain control of her breathing, Kagome threw the door back open to the stairwell and lunged inside. She started to descend, but she faltered—she could hear footsteps, loud, pounding footsteps, heading up the stairs towards her. Naraku had brought backup.

"Oh… shit," she gasped, looking around for another way to go.

Tilting her head upwards, she found her only way out: the roof. There was nowhere else to go. She printed up the finally flight of steps and shouldered the door open. Skidding out onto the gravel, she slid across the flat level of the building. There was nowhere else to go. The chill night air tugged at her hair, whipping it across her face in a way that would have hurt if there wasn't so much adrenaline pumping through her system. The buildings weren't close enough to jump across to, and there was no fire escape for an office building that tall.

"You _bitch_!"

Spinning on her heel, Kagome faced a panting, furious Naraku. He seemed almost manic from the drugs, even energetic despite the sweat beading on his forehead. The woman chewed on her lip, deciding in that moment to face the problem head on. She squared her shoulders—there wasn't anywhere to run, anyway.

"Naraku!" she shouted, fighting to sound more angry than terrified.

Trying to placate her, Naraku smile, but it came off as demented and disturbing. "Baby, don't worry, we'll get out of this. Give me the jewel, and you can come back home. Everything will go back to normal."

Kagome scoffed. "No," she told him loudly. "You're in too deep, Naraku, you can't get out this time. I bet the police have been keeping as close an eye on you as they have on me. I've learned a lot since I came here, including your criminal record. You've done a lot for someone younger than thirty."

Unsurprisingly, Naraku ignored her. "You can't be serious, my love. Are you saying that you enjoy being here with these people? You enjoy being Kagome Shashu? Don't you want to go home and be Kagome Higurashi again?"

"I have friends here, Naraku! Sango and Miroku and Inuyasha are all here for me! I have a job and a life; I'm able to go where I want, when I want, and no one tries to control me. I'm happy for the first time in a long time, and I love being here."

Her ex scoffed openly. "You don't mean Miroku Houshi, do you? He's no good for you. Did you know that his dad was a famous detective? He'll probably try to mooch off that fame forever. He's worthless— a good-for-nothing piece of trash."

"Miroku is a good man," Kagome argued hotly. "And he's a great friend."

As though he hadn't heard her, Naraku carried on. "And Sango Taijai? She's rolling in money. She's happy _without _you, Kagome!" Even with several feet between them, he could see the way her eyes were shinning with tears. It gave him the confidence to continue in an even louder voice. "She has her brother, that Kohaku boy. After their parents' death in that fire, she doesn't want to get close to anyone. She doesn't want you around screwing up her life," he told Kagome coldly, taking a step forward.

"Don't you talk about Sango that way," Kagome snapped, swiping stubbornly at the tears falling down her cheek. They made her even angrier. "She's been like a sister to me. You don't know her!"

Naraku cocked his head to one side, a slow malicious smile spreading across his handsome face. "And then there's Inuyasha… He doesn't care for you, in any way at all. He's a shallow playboy who sleeps around with anyone who will have him. He'd just use you and throw you away."

It made her heart ache, the things he was saying. Kagome shook her head violently as though it would be enough to fend off his poisonous words. "Inuyasha is my _friend_. Don't you dare say that crap about him!"

After a beat, Naraku began walking forward, extending his hands out towards her. He clearly needed to try a different tact if verbally attacking her friends wasn't enough to turn her against them. "Kagome, I love you. Please come home! I need you."

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut tight as more tears brimmed. "My home's here now, Naraku," she insisted, her voice trembling. "Not with you. Not anymore." Suddenly, Kagome's eyes opened and flashed dangerously. "And you _don't _love me."

He crept closer, still smiling. "Kagome, come back. I promise I won't hit you anymore. I never will again. You _love _me, Kagome, and you can't stay away."

"I don't love you, and I never have! I will never_, ever_ come back to you."

Stunned, Naraku stumbled to a stop just as Inuyasha burst through the door. He'd heard some of the exchange, mostly in pieces, but he'd caught all of that last remark—and it made Inuyasha smile, wishing he could see the look on Naraku's face instead of just the deadbeat's back.

"Kagome!" he called forcefully, talking a step forward.

"Oh, thank god," Kagome said very quietly under her breath. She gave him a tremulous smile, striving to sound strong and confident. "It's about time, you jerk," she yelled at her friend. For a second, she almost laughed in relief. "I came all the way here to see you, and you weren't here to meet me," she scolded. They shared a smile.

The fact that her attention wasn't focused completely on him made something dark and sinister boil just below Naraku's skin. "Kagome, this bastard has been brainwashing you! Don't you see? You do love me; everyone's just trying to keep you away from me!"

"That was actually the idea," Inuyasha spat. "The keeping you away from her part, I mean. Leave Kagome alone!"

Naraku's attention darted between Kagome and Inuyasha, but it finally landed on the jewel swinging from around her neck. It struck a longing in him, and he took a step towards her, forcing her to take a step back. Kagome had no choice but to keep backing away to keep some distance between them, but he kept coming forward.

As Kagome took her fourth step backward, her tennis shoe scuffed something. She quickly regained her balance and risked a glance behind her, realizing that she'd reach the edge of the roof. The ledge was only up to her shins, and her heel had landed in the middle of it—if she'd had tripped, she would have gone over. The bottom dropped out of her stomach just as her heart leaped into her throat. It made her dizzy to look down at all the lights rushing past, so far below.

When Naraku stepped forward again and watched her shuffle back as far as possible, it made him smirk in triumph. "Kagome, come back to me."

"No, Naraku, never!" Her eyes sparked with hatred and blame, conveying all the doubt and anger he'd invoked in her; it was enough to surprise him, but not enough to stop him.

"This is your last chance," he murmured, coming to stand directly in front of her. There was nothing by sky behind her, a backdrop of stars. For a moment, just a moment, Naraku's drug hazy mind remembered how much he actually did love her.

Tears pooled in Kagome's eyes. This was the man she had lived with for four years, who had taken away her friends, family, and freedom. He had beaten her and hunted her down without mercy when she tried to escape and create a better life away from him. She never wanted to be near him again. "Never," she whispered.

Naraku's smirk flickered and died. Reaching forward, he gently plucked the jewel from her chest, rolling it around with his fingers.

Inuyasha, who had been standing off to the side trying to calculate his next move, stumbled forward—Naraku was officially too close to Kagome for comfort. The gravel shifted under his feet, but he tried to approach as quietly as he could.

Swallowing hard, his eyes crazed, Naraku met Kagome's eyes. He placed a hand flat on her chest, ignoring the way she gasped and flinched away from his touch, and then he pushed. So very quickly, Kagome's body angled backward over the empty space behind her. Her momentum snapped the chain of the Shikon no Tama from around her neck, and Naraku's fingers closed over it completely.

"No!" Inuyasha yelled, rushing forward, watching helplessly as Kagome's arms spread out wide to grab hold of something that wasn't there. Her eyes, already so big and innocent, were even wider with terror. It only took one second for her to lose her balance, for her to go over the edge—but in that one second, she shifted her gaze from Naraku to Inuyasha and gave him a very small smile.

And then she was gone.

Naraku and Inuyasha both stood at the edge, peering down into the darkness, stunned into silence. He hadn't been able to do it—Inuyasha hadn't been able to save her after all, and Naraku had just pushed her off the roof of a _building_.

Snarling, Inuyasha turned on Naraku. Nothing else mattered. Even if Kagura had called the police, even if they would be running up the stairwell any second, it was already too late. With Kagome gone, Inuyasha didn't care about anything—except killing Naraku.

The younger man lunged at Naraku, his knuckles making contact with the murderer's jaw with a resounding _crack_ of flesh on flesh. As Naraku stumbled backward, Inuyasha used his continued momentum to collide with him in the chest and take him down the ground.

As Naraku laid on the gravel, curling inward, Inuyasha stumbled to his feet and delivered a swift kick into the other's ribs. When he stepped back, Naraku rolled over onto his knees and spit out a mouthful of blood. Afraid to give him too much time to recover, Inuyasha lifted his leg and dropped the heel of his boot into Naraku's head, dropping the man back to the floor with a groan.

"You sick son of a bitch!" Inuyasha roared, dropping to his knees over Naraku's prone body and placing his hand on the back of his head, shoving it hard into the gravel. He didn't notice that Naraku's hand was reaching up until his long fingers wrapped around Inuyasha's neck. Gasping for breath around the pressure on his wind pipe, the younger man allowed the murderer to overpower him.

They both collapsed on the roof, rolling around in the gravel until Naraku was the one on his feet. Returning the favor, the murderer landed several kicks himself into Inuyasha's side. When Inuyasha got to his hands and knees, swaying, Naraku put a foot on his back and pressed down until the younger man was one again flat on the ground.

Desperately, Inuyasha grabbed Naraku's ankle and dug his nails into the skin until he felt it tear, blood pooling around his fingertips.

Naraku yelped and jumped backward, giving Inuyasha enough time to get to his feet and throw a swing that knocked the older man off balance; he dropped to the ground and skidded across the gravel, the small, jagged bits of rock scraping his skin as he went.

They were both breathing raggedly—battered, bloody, and bruised. Inuyasha stumbled back a step, struggling to regain control. Everything was spinning around him. With a couple of false starts, Naraku was able to get to his feet as well. They stood facing one another until Inuyasha threw a vicious right hook, his fist colliding with Naraku's nose until they both heard it break. Blood streamed down the murderer's pale skin.

There in that moment, Inuyasha could picture Naraku hurting Kagome, the way he must have punched and kicked her. Had the bastard ever broken _her _nose? Anger fueled him again, quieting the pain until it was just a murmur under the surface. He kneed Naraku in the gut, watching with satisfaction as the older man grunted and crumpled to his knees.

Naraku, however, had both drugs and adrenaline on his side—he pushed off from the ground and tackled Inuyasha around his middle, taking them both to the gravel. Inuyasha bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from crying out in pain when his back collided with the roof.

Using his weight, Inuyasha rolled Naraku over and threw punch after punch into his face. Naraku shoved him away and scrambled to his feet, his face swollen and bloody.

"Naraku," he growled, spitting blood off to the side. "You're a dick, did you know that? You made her think that she loved you and that you loved her and that she deserved everything you gave her. You made her believe that your mistakes were her fault. You're a fucking _asshole_."

Kagome's ex brushed at his face with a closed fist, smearing blood across his mouth. He scowled.

"You made her see things that no one deserved to see," Inuyasha continued, taking a step forward. "You dragged her into a mess that involved murder, stealing, and drugs. You kept her from the people who loved her, and you made her so terrified that she had to run away to another city—only to be hunted down like an animal by you!"

Naraku snarled, "I wanted her back! Can you blame me? She was always there and was always helping me. And I didn't mistreat her. She _did _deserve anything she got!"

Unable to restrain himself for another second, Inuyasha lunged forward and grabbed Naraku around the neck. Instinctively, Naraku pushed Inuyasha off of him and took a step backward…

Into thin air.

Inuyasha watched in horror as the second person in just as many minutes tumbled over the edge. Naraku's eyes widened in realization as his body went careening into empty space; he reached outward and something flew from his fist—and the Shikon no Tama landed with a soft _ting _on the roof.

The last expression on Naraku's face was a twisted smirk, looking both angry and afraid, and then he was out of sight.

Many, many stories below, Naraku screamed until he passed out mid-air, soon after landing in a bloody heap in a Tokyo street.

His death cry echoed in Inuyasha's ears, even long after Naraku was finally gone.

**Next Chapter: Home Again**


	19. Home Again

Edited: 7/19/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Nineteen: Home Again

* * *

Everything seemed surreal as Inuyasha leaned over the ledge, looking down at the small dark spot so far below. There were flashing red lights as well, indicating that the police had finally made it—only minutes too late to do anything.

The idea that Naraku was finally gone made him want to smile, but a sharp tug in his chest reminded him that things were perfect. They were so much less than perfect that it was horrifying. When Inuyasha glanced around, his eyes landed on the small pink jewel laying in the gravel at his feet; he remembered with sudden clarity just why he shouldn't be so happy with the way things had ended.

_Kagome._

"Kagome!" he shouted, his chest aching as the idea of her gone hit him full force.

He didn't have long to wallow, however, because a distant—but very irritated voice—shouted up at him.

"Hey, you idiot!"

Inuyasha blinked, wondering if he'd actually lost it. He swore he could actually _hear_ Kago—

Having gotten no response, the person tried again just a bit louder. "Inuyasha, you jackass! Help me up or I swear I'll hurt you until you cry!"

Cautiously, he made his way over to the ledge and peered downward, trying to keep a good head on his shoulders at the dizzying sight.

"Inuyasha?" a young woman cried frantically looking back up at him.

Just out of sight below the edge, Kagome was steadying herself with her toes on a two-inch wide ledge while her fingers were wrapped around a bit of decorative molding in a stranglehold. Her knuckles were white with the effort, and she was shaking badly.

"You little bitch!" Inuyasha yelled down to her, his voice awed. "You scared the crap out of me!" He scowled in her direction, realizing just how worried and upset he'd been when he believed she'd plummeted to a blood death—he had felt it even through the shock caused by the situation. He reached down and grabbed her by both wrists, yanking her quickly to the roof to leave no time to freak her out anymore than she already was.

Kagome stood pale and almost hyperventilating in front of him as he eyed her up and down to make sure she was unharmed. When their eyes finally met, Inuyasha felt like he'd swallowed a swarm of angry, energetic butterflies. Before he could identify what exactly he was feeling, Kagome slapped him sharply across the face.

"What was that for?" he demanded, putting his hand to his cheek. It was rather ridiculous considering the shape he was in after a brutal fight with a man as strong as Naraku.

Kagome scrunched up her nose to keep from yelling at the wide-eyed man. "You idiot! It took you long enough to pull me back up. I could have— _would _have..." she trailed off and began to nibble her bottom lip, trying hard not to cry.

With a sigh, Inuyasha took off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders, pulling it tight around her. "You're shivering," he told her quietly, chucking her on the chin affectionately.

She promptly burst into tears.

Without hesitation, Inuyasha tucked her into his arms and held her close, stroking her hair in an inane attempt to soothe her. Kagome melted into the hug, repeatedly promising that she'd be nicer to him from now on and she was _so very sorry _about slapping him.

"It's alright. Everything's alright," he whispered. "I might have deserved it."

"_Might have_?" she echoed incredulously. "You definitely deserved it!" her face appeared and she gently wiped the tears away with her thumbs.

Keeping a comforting and strong arm around her slim shoulders, he guided her to the roof's door.

Right before they got to the stairwell, several cops decked out in bulletproof vests burst through the doorway with their guns aimed at chest level. They struck a pose, pointing their handguns and rifles in seemingly random directions, looking almost threatening. As though his life depended on it, a young policeman slunk over to the jewel, looking everywhere as though expecting something to jump out and attack. Using a gloved hand, he slipped the item into a thin manila folder.

Kagome leaned heavily into Inuyasha's side, not trusting her legs to hold her, and they continued past the officers. An aging detective, mouth set in a grim line, met them at the top of the stairs and led them down without a word.

Once they reached the lobby, two uniformed men directed them towards an idling squad car with instructions to go to the station and deliver their official statement.

"You look like crap," one man said, almost managing to sound sympathetic, "But you both seem to be walking alright. You can wait until later for the hospital, right?"

Inuyasha nodded.

"Here," the detective demanded roughly as he prepared to duck Kagome into the back seat like he would a criminal.

"I'll do it," Inuyasha snarled and gently handed Kagome into the back before climbing in behind her.

Outside, just within view, Kagome noticed a lump on the cold concrete as the car drove past. The sheet stretched over top was stained with blood and other questionable liquids.

"Naraku," Kagome breathed, her eyes wide.

"Don't look at it," Inuyasha muttered, pulling her head down into his shoulder to shield her eyes. He averted his own gaze, instead watching the passing scenery as they drew closer to the police station.

* * *

An hour later as the two waited in the interrogation room, Inuyasha studied Kagome's very serious profile. Her eyes seemed almost empty as she watched the air in front of her, her lips thinned into a frown.

He decided not to interrupt her thoughts.

Instead, he examined his own ideas and conclusions about the situation. With no more Naraku, there wasn't any threat back in Kyoto, which meant there were no more ties keeping Kagome in Tokyo—

Except for her new friendships.

Then again, Kagome had friends and family back home as well.

Inuyasha felt like slamming an angry fist into the nearby wall to vent his frustration. A dark part of him expected Kagome to leave them. Before, he'd been fine—happy even—with just Sango and Miroku. However, he wasn't as thickheaded as some people took him for; he'd noticed how close his two best friends had become. Without Kagome, he felt like his position in the group had changed. He'd practically be a third wheel in his own group.

Of course he was happy for them. Sango and Miroku would be good together—and it had taken them so long to realize it. Inuyasha was certain that if he were ever falling in love or someone was falling in love with him, he'd know it immediately.

Then again, if nothing else had been proved by Kagome and Naraku's situation, it was now obvious that love and relationships were complicated subjects.

Without Naraku, would he and Kagome have anything left to talk about? Before now, the best thing Inuyasha had going for him with Kagome was how he'd listen to her talk about her situation, comfort her when it became too much. That was gone now. Granted, they had just been through a difficult experience that might lead to a stronger friendship.

Inuyasha leaned back in his chair, ignoring the look the on-duty cop watching them was giving him.

It was taking an agonizingly long time for the detective to show up. He'd insisted they needed to be questioned while their memory was still fresh. Inuyasha's first instinct had been to argue, but Kagome had agreed quietly almost immediately.

Distracted by his thoughts, Inuyasha didn't notice Kagome's hand creeping towards him until her fingers wrapped around his own. She gave him a reassuring squeeze, and he fought to hide his smile.

* * *

"I have come to a decision," the old detective, dubbed 'The Billy Goat' in Inuyasha's mind, told the two in front of him while clasping his hands in a very serious pose.

Inuyasha snorted rudely. "Took you long eno— _ow_! Kagome!"

Kagome, who had just elbowed him in his side to keep him quiet, turned her full attention to the cop. "Yes?"

"With your eyewitness accounts, in addition to reports from a few eagle-eyed pedestrians on the street below, it has been determined that Naraku was at the ledge alone when he went over and that he was not pushed."

"So…?" Inuyasha said, drawing the word out slowly.

"So we can't arrest you for Naraku's murder. Even if you _had_ shoved him, I doubt you, Mr. Youkai, could have gotten into a lot of trouble. For one, he was a murderer and a thief; for another, it was clearly self-defense that caused you to fight him in the first place. When Naraku shoved Ms. Higurashi off the ledge, you were also attacking him in her self-defense."

"Well that's fantastic news," Inuyasha snapped snidely. "Can we go now?"

"Don't sound like such a child," Kagome scolded.

"Yes, you may go, but I need to be able to reach you, Ms. Higurashi, for further questioning."

Kagome nodded dutifully before she got to her feet, waiting for Inuyasha to follow her. "Goodbye, Detective Yagi!" she called over her shoulder with a small wave.

Inuyasha snickered, because the old man's last name actually meant "goat."

They left the interrogation room and were guided to the front of the station by a uniformed officer. When they walked into the lobby, they were immediately confronted.

"Kagome!" Sango shouted, lurching away from Miroku—who had his arm wrapped around her waist—and racing towards her friends. The two women embraced as Sango tutted sympathetically under her breath.

Miroku approached and wrapped the two in a hug close to his chest. "She was worried," he said, nodding towards Sango.

"So were you!" the brunette retorted practically. They shared a small, secret smile.

"How'd you know to find us here?" Inuyasha demanded, always the blunt one, as he came to stand next to the group.

"Some woman called us and told us we might want to show up here," Sango explained, looking confused.

"A woman…?" Kagome raised an eyebrow as her questioning voice trailed off.

"I bet it was that red-eyed woman," Inuyasha announced, snapping his fingers with realization.

"What red-eyed woman?" Miroku asked, looking very interested. Sango slid him an exasperated look.

"Red-eyed?" Kagome repeated thoughtfully. "Oh, I bet that was Kagura. I really owe her… It took me awhile, but I finally figured it out. Kagura called me the morning, right before I walked in on the murders, and tried to warn me to stay away. I didn't listen. Obviously."

The others knew better than to comment on this.

Kagome yawned and hit it behind her hand. "I'm ready to head home and get some sleep," she said drowsily. "I think I just suffered an adrenaline crash."

"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed. "You look like shit."

Aggravated, Kagome huffed and grabbed Sango's purse, slamming it into Inuyasha's gut. She then stormed out of the station, Sango and Miroku at her heels—laughing.

"What'd I say?" Inuyasha wondered aloud as he followed, slowly, behind.

* * *

Once they were all in Miroku's car—both Inuyasha's and the one that Kagome borrowed from Sango were still in the parking lot by the Inutaisho Company—Kagome shifted restlessly in the back seat.

"What is it, Kagome?" Sango asked, looking over at her.

"Did Kagura say anything about what would happen to her?"

Miroku frowned slightly from the driver's seat. "Before hanging up, she mentioned something about Mexico."

Kagome turned wide eyes on the other three passengers. "Mexico," she echoed.

From the front seat, Inuyasha twisted around and sent her a supportive look. "She'll be fine, Kagome. Don't worry about her."

Instead of sounding reassured, Kagome surprised them all by scoffing. "Why Mexico? Personally, I would have chosen France or Spain."

"Kagome?" Sango said, sounding surprised and confused. "You've actually _thought_about where you'd go if you were on the run from the cops?"

To their relief, Kagome giggled tiredly. "I was kidding! …Mostly."

* * *

The next day, Kagome, Souta, Shippou, and Inuyasha were relaxing in the living room. All three males were talking excitedly about the night before while Kagome looked on, wondering if she should be disturbed.

"Oh! _Oh_!"

"Yes, Souta?" Inuyasha asked with a smirk, calling on them as though they were in a classroom.

"Was there whistling while he was falling—?"

"—And did he go _splat_ when he hit the street?" Shippou quickly added. Both boys peered up at the man with wide, curious eyes.

Inuyasha chuckled darkly. "It was more like a _squish_ sound."

Kagome groaned, feeling a headache brewing at her temples. Bring on the aspirin, she thought. Standing up, she padded out of the room and away from the discussion on sound effects of her ex's death.

She was stopped before she reached the doorway, however, when a small voice asked, "Um… Kagome?"

She glanced over her shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Is he really gone?"

"Yeah, Souta, he's really gone."

* * *

The day had been pretty boring long before the family and guests gathered in the kitchen for dinner. Kagome and Inuyasha had slept in due to exhaustion while Sesshoumaru had left to help the detective with his investigation. The older Mr. Youkai knew someone needed to chaperone the police as they wandered around the Inutaisho Company building looking for evidence.

In his absence, Sango and Miroku, along with Kohaku, had come by to keep everything under control.

Now everyone, even the dog, was sitting down to an uncomfortably silent dinner.

Kagome shifted on her stool for the umpteenth time, which caused the two males eating on either side of her, Inuyasha and Souta, to eye her warily. She'd been awfully quiet since she'd woken up, constantly starring off into space as though a heavy question was plaguing her mind.

Gently clearing her throat again, the woman glanced around at the others assembled at the table.

"Mama?"

"Yeah, Shippou?"

"You're not eating your oden; can I have it?" the redheaded child asked innocently.

Considering oden was Kagome's favorite dish in the entire world, everyone was exceptionally worried. "Sure, I guess," Kagome said vaguely, pushing the bowl towards her adopted son.

"Er… Kagome?"

"Yes, Souta?"

"Can I have your rice cakes?"

"Go ahead," Kagome offered, waving dismissively at her plate.

By this time, Kagome had her head propped up on one hand and was watching the air with disinterest.

"Kagome—?"

"Yes, Miroku, you can have my sake."

"Thanks!"

Kagome hummed noncommittally.

"Ms. Higurashi, may I be granted the permission to have—?"

"Okay, that's _it_!" Inuyasha snapped, slamming his hands down hard on the table. Everyone turned to look at him. "What is she? A buffet table?"

"A table? Not with that figure..." Miroku joked with a eyebrow waggle, and Sango elbowed him in the ribs.

"Inuyasha? You can have my rice pudding if you want," Kagome told him.

"...Thanks."

Nibbling her lip, Kagome glanced at the chatting people surrounding her.

"Um… guys?" Her quiet voice, surprisingly, grabbed everyone's attention. "I've been thinking…" She turned to glance wistfully out the window.

"Yes?" Sango prodded, eyebrow arched.

But one person wasn't watching Kagome.

His eyes was glaring at his fists in his lap.

It was coming…

Inuyasha knew what to expect.

Kagome was going to say those three words, and then disappear forever, and life would go back to normal… As normal as it could get excluding a great secretary, best friend, mother figure, and grade-A arguer.

And for once, Inuyasha was right.

"I'm going home."

**Next Chapter: The Sunset Shrine**


	20. The Sunset Shrine

Edited: 7/20/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Twenty: The Sunset Shrine

* * *

Kohaku and Rin, unaware of the impact of those words, went back to the TV show, and Sesshoumaru continued on his paper. Souta and Shippou sat with goofy smiles, all happy about the idea of going back to Kyoto.

The other three, however, weren't doing as well with Kagome's news.

"Home?" Sango squeaked, her voice losing its normal confident edge.

"Home," Miroku echoed dully.

Inuyasha flinched like he'd just been slapped. Although he wasn't surprised, he did still feel a little betrayed. He'd feared this ever since the police station—Kagome going home had made sense after Naraku's death—but that didn't mean he liked the idea.

Kagome, who had been gazing out the window when she'd told them, tentatively turned back to her three friends, unaware of their reactions. "That's not all," she continued, sounding nervous. "I was hoping…"

The way she was dragging out her words was killing her friends. Sango felt tears prick her eyes, and Miroku wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him. Inuyasha kept glaring.

"That you would like to, well…"

"Yes?" Sango pushed.

"Would you like to come with us?" Kagome finished in a rush, lifting pleading eyes.

Already, Inuyasha's mouth was hanging open, ready to yell until the full impact of her words hit him.

Go with?

"You could come and meet my other friends and family, and I can show you the shrine. I can find some way to repay all of you," Kagome explained hopefully.

Neither Sango nor Miroku could stop smiling, while Inuyasha remained speechless.

Thank goodness for Sesshoumaru.

"Thank you but no thank you, Kagome. Rin and I need to go to the D-O-C-T-O-R."

Kagome couldn't help grinning at the way he'd spelled out doctor to avoid alarming the little girl; it seemed like such a parent thing to do. "Oh, Souta? Shippou? Would you mind?" she asked, looking to her brother and son.

"We can see mom? _And _Kohaku could come and see the sacred tree?" Souta asked, bouncing in his seat. "That would be awesome!"

"Well, yes to Kohaku coming only if Sango says he can."

"Kagome!" Sango said excitedly. "Of course I'd love to go to Kyoto with you. Kohaku, too! Thank you!" Sango bolted out of her chair to hug the very relieved Kagome.

"Well, I'm going. All the better that Sango's going too." Miroku grinned.

"Thanks; it means a lot that you'd like to come!" Kagome gushed. "Inuyasha?" she asked, peering at him. She was hoping he'd say yes. For the longest time, she'd been worried that when her problems were gone, that Inuyasha would kick her out of the company and his house. When she looked at him and saw the angry and surprised expression on his face, plus the way he was being so silent, she took it the wrong way. Her bottom lip trembled slightly; slowly, she began to turn away from him.

"Wait!" Inuyasha started trying to kick his brain into gear.

"Yeah?"

"Are you telling us that you're not just going to take off?"

"Of course I wouldn't do that," Kagome said slowly, completely confused.

"Ah." Inuyasha crossed his arms, and Kagome stared blankly at him, deciding to take that as a _Sure, I'd love to go to Kyoto with you, Kagome_. Inuyasha's cheeks reddened as relief swept through him. Kagome didn't want to leave. Well, she did want to leave, just not in the way he'd been losing sleep over. She wasn't going to desert them.

Now all that scene needed was a group hug.

* * *

It was almost depressing how short of time it took Kagome to pack up her things. Even after her shopping trip with Sango weeks earlier, she still only had enough clothes to fill a single duffel bag. Everything else she stowed away in a backpack. Once she was done, Kagome stood in the doorway and surveyed the bedroom she had been living out of for such a short time, realizing that she was leaving nothing behind to show that she had ever been there at all.

"Kagome?" her little brother asked, surprising her as he appeared in the hallway. She'd been so intent on being nostalgic that she'd missed his footsteps.

"Yeah, Souta?"

"When are we going to leave?" he asked, coming to stand next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and leaned into her side, also looking into barren guestroom.

"Tomorrow," she answered, tugging him closer. She ruffled his hair and gave him a sentimental smile. "We'll show up on the shrine steps and surprise the heck out of Mama."

Souta smiled back crookedly, already anticipating the look on their mother's face. "Hey, thanks," he said suddenly, looking shy.

"For what?"

"For keeping me. Most sisters would never have wanted their little brothers hanging around, but you let me stay with you for four years; plus, you really protected me," he confided quietly. "I know things got rough for Mom after Dad died, and I think it really helped that you took care of me when she had to focus on the shrine and taking care of Grandpa."

"I'd never leave you, Souta," Kagome promised, chucking him playfully on the chin.

"I know." Souta squeezed her one more time before letting go. He stepped back and said, "I'm going to go pack and help Shippou."

"Hey, don't forget anything!" Kagome called after him as he raced away, but she wasn't sure if he'd actually heard her.

With a chuckle, Kagome went back into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, propping her feet on top of the small pile of luggage. Before she could get too deep into her memories, someone standing in the doorway knocked on the doorjamb.

"Hey," Kagome told Inuyasha with a smile.

He walked and collapsed in the armchair next to the bed, looking a bit nostalgic himself. It was an odd and unfamiliar expression on him, and it seemed a little out of place. "Hi. So… what are you doing?" He asked, glancing over at her. The way he spoke told Kagome that he had something to say, but he was going to beat around the bush first.

"I just finished packing."

"Why?"

"So, I'll have clothes," Kagome explained, trying to wait patiently to figure out his angle.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to run around the shrine naked."

"Why? I wouldn't mind and neither would Miroku, I'm sure," he joked with a chuckle.

Her patience broke as a blush flared on her cheeks. "Inuyasha!" Here, she smacked him in the shoulder to show her annoyance. "Out!" she ordered while pointing towards the open door.

"Fine," he huffed childishly and lurched out of his chair. He started towards the hallway, but he stopped when he felt her reach out and grab his wrist.

"Thanks," she told him sincerely, surprising him. Her expression had melted from irritated to serious, reminding him of how restrained and somber she'd been back when she'd first arrived in Tokyo. Inuyasha liked Kagome better when she was smiling.

"For what?"

"For a lot of things," she said, still holding onto his wrist to keep his attention. She didn't have to do that, he thought, because she would always have his attention. "Thanks for helping me out when we were still practically strangers. Thanks for watching over the boys and giving me a chance at work. For coming to my rescue and saving me—more than once, but especially this last time. Thanks for standing by me, and most of all, thank you for just being there for me, Inuyasha."

"I…" he began, unsure of how to answer that. In the end, there seemed to be only one thing he could say. "You're welcome."

The way Kagome smiled at him then made the entire room feel brighter. It made his bruises and cuts from the confrontation with Naraku stop hurting so much. It even made the possibility of her leaving Tokyo for good seem not as painful.

"Hey, Kagome," he said, wishing he could give her the same feeling that she gave him at that very moment. "Thank you, too." With that, Inuyasha pulled out of her grasp and walked out of the room without an explanation.

* * *

The beginnings of one of Kagome's favorite pop songs drifted out from the car radio, and she started to hum along and drum her fingers on the dashboard to the beat. Before the first stanza even finished, Inuyasha, who was driving, reached over and clicked a button to turn the sound off.

"Inuyasha!"

"What?"

"I liked that song!" Kagome protested, glaring at him from the passenger seat heatedly. She even folded her arms over her chest over the seatbelt to enhance her air of irritableness.

"Oh, yeah? Well bite me!"

"Eww, _Inuyasha_!"

"What?" he snapped again, glancing away from the road and at Kagome.

"I'm not kinky; why would I want to bite you?"

"Kagome! It's an expression!"

"Oh," she muttered, her cheeks heating in a blush as she remembered that it was, in fact, only a common expression. Clearly her mind had been corrupted from the amount of time she'd been spending with Miroku.

"Will you two shut up, _please_, and turn the radio back on?" Souta asked in a very irritated voice from the backseat. "And I really, really didn't need to hear that 'bite me' comment."

"Shut up, Souta," Kagome snapped, sounding like she had back when she was a teenager and still found Souta the most annoying person in the world.

"Feh," her little brother countered.

"Hey, I'm a trendsetter," Inuyasha announced with a laugh. "You sounded just like me there, little man." His laughter was cut short when Kagome smacked him on the arm with a resounding _smack_ noise.

"Ow!" he protested, risking looking away from the road again to glare at the woman. "Kagome!"

"Keep your eyes on the road, you idiot! I'd like to live to make it to my shrine," Kagome scolded. "And the radio is going back on."

"This is my car," Inuyasha pointed out, pouting.

"And your point is what exactly?"

"Feh," Inuyasha muttered, giving up and turning the radio back on. The chorus of a depressing oldies song were playing, and he immediately clicked the 'off' button again. "Yeah, that's it. The radio is staying off."

"You're just irritable, because you've been in a car for two hours," Kagome suggested.

"No, I'm irritable, because we are driving in a convertible when it feels like winter. Even with the top up and the heater one, it's freezing in here," he argued.

"I told you we should have taken the train," Kagome muttered under her breath. Due to the tight quarters of the car, Inuyasha heard her anyway. "Who drives from Tokyo to Kyoto instead of taking the train?"

"Me," he told her decisively, effectively ending the conversation.

Following close behind them was the SUV that carried Miroku, Sango, and Kohaku. There was no way all seven of them could have fit comfortably in one car for the almost three hour drive, so they'd decided to split up. This seemed like the most logical division.

In the back seat, Shippou was sleeping soundly, snuggled up against the door. He'd been knocked out almost since they left the Youkai household. Kagome wished she was so excited, so she could get a nap in, too. The car was so cramped, that she was feeling a little claustrophobic and sleep would have been a welcome relief.

Forty-five minutes later, not long after they entered the suburbs of Kyoto, Kagome directed Inuyasha towards a little neighborhood. He parked at the curb, and the group piled from the car just as Sango pulled up behind them. The seven gathered at the base of the wide steps, looking up the hill to see the welcoming archway and all the trees that surrounded it.

"Wow," Sango breathed. Miroku merely nodded his agreement, at a loss for words.

Tears pricked Kagome's eyes.

She was finally home.

Fighting down the overwhelming emotional response to being back at her childhood house, Kagome linked her arm with Inuyasha and tugged him towards the steps. Souta pushed by them and ran ahead, Shippou and Kohaku not far behind. When they reached the top, Kagome spotted her mother—Mrs. Higurashi was sweeping the main courtyard, gathering fallen leaves into a small pile to get rid of. Grandfather was kneeling close by, fixing a shutter with his old toolbox.

"Mama!" Kagome shouted, dropping her grip on Inuyasha and rushing forward. Mrs. Higurashi looked up, her face overcome with emotion.

"Kagome!" she called. The broom fell from her hand. "Souta! Shippou!"

"Mama," her daughter repeated, hurrying forward and throwing herself at Mrs. Higurashi. Souta and Shippou joined in, hugging her from either side.

Grandfather dropped the hammer in his hand and stood up, teary-eyed. "Children!" Kagome gestured with one arm to join them, and he did.

Touched, the others stood back and watched, afraid to interrupt or ruin the moment. Sango was so excited to see how happy everyone looked that she started to cry herself, looking away from Miroku in embarrassment. He only chuckled and bumped his shoulder playfully against hers.

"Oh, Mama!" Kagome was sobbing, but she was smiling.

"Kagome, dear! We've missed you so much. Kouga told us you were doing alright, so we tried not to worry. When you called, we were so happy!"

"Oh, Mama! It was horrible," Kagome confided tearfully. She then launched into a description of what had happened, but she was so upset and overwhelmed that she more or less babble incoherently. "He… and then… of course Naraku… and you should have heard him… _splat_!"

Mrs. Higurashi hushed her daughter gently and patted her on the head as if she were still a little girl. "It's all right, dear," she promised soothingly. But then, in a very confused voice, she asked, "What went splat?"

"I, uh, I think I can clarify," Inuyasha said hesitantly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he stepped forward and gained everyone's attention.

Mrs. Higurashi tilted her head and looked at the young man carefully, and Inuyasha got the feeling that she was sizing him up. When Kagome's mother stepped forward, he tried very hard not to flinch, and then he tried even harder not to when Mrs. Higurashi enveloped him in a hug.

"Thank you for taking care of my daughter," she told him sweetly. "We owe you so much!" She let go only to hug Sango, Miroku, and Kohaku in turn.

"Mama?"

"What, Kagome, dear?"

"I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. Now let's go inside and get some tea."

Everyone relaxed as Mrs. Higurashi ushered everyone inside the house, herding the large group like cattle. When Inuyasha walked by her, Kagome's mother reached out and tugged on his sleeve. "Now… what went splat?"

Inuyasha laughed. "Let's sit down first."

Within minutes, there were people settled on every available seat in the crowded but cozy living room. Mrs. Higurashi fetched a tray of cups and a teapot, making sure everyone got one. She then brought out a plate of cookies, which the boys immediately dived in to.

"So far, from Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi began, taking a seat next to her daughter, "I've gotten: He… and then… of course Naraku… and you should have heard him… _splat_! …Did I miss anything?"

Miroku, who felt right at home in the shrine considering he was descended from a long line of monks, told Mrs. Higurashi rather cheerfully, "You missed nothing. That's word-for-word what Kagome said."

"So what, exactly, does it all mean?" Mrs. Higurashi prodded, quirking an eyebrow at her guests. She may have been an outstanding mother, but that did not help her any with filling in the blanks.

Inuyasha considered the order of Kagome's words, deciding that it might be less emotionally-taxing if he explained what happened instead of her. "I can try."

"Go on then."

"_He _pushed me (by which I mean Kagome, of course) off the top of an office building. _And then_ Inuyasha (which would be me) came and attacked Naraku. _Of course Naraku_ fought back, _and you should have heard him_ when he also fell off the roof. He hit the ground with a _splat_ sound."

"Oh, I see," Mrs. Higurashi said gently, her head tilted in thought.

"That was actually really good," Kagome praised, surprised.

"Well, I was there, wasn't I?"

Kagome laughed before nibbling on a cookie.

"So Naraku is gone? As in, really gone?" her mother asked, her eyes wide.

"That _demon_ is gone?" Grandfather echoed.

"Yeah, he's… well, he's as gone as it gets," Kagome confirmed, smiling around at her family. "It's over."

"Then we should be grateful."

"Yes, Mama, we are."

"So," Mrs. Higurashi clapped her hands, banishing the thoughtful silence they had fallen into. "Where will you be sleeping tonight?"

**Next Chapter: Stay With Me**


	21. Stay With Me

Edited: 7/20/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Twenty-One: Stay With Me

* * *

Inuyasha rolled over in the sleeping bag on the floor, his shoulders already stiff from the uncomfortable sleeping position. Somehow, it had been decided that the only spot left for the young man to sleep was on the floor of Kagome's old room, which had barely changed since she was seventeen years old. The weirdest thing of all was that it had been Mrs. Higurashi who had been the one to suggest that Inuyasha—a _man_—sleep on her daughter's floor.

If Inuyasha were the paranoid type, he might have feared he was being set up.

It would have been alright, except that there was a cold draft and seeped through the sleeping bag, there was a creaky floorboard he kept accidentally rolling onto, and there was a mountain of dust bunnies under the bed.

An hour later, he still couldn't sleep. To add to his discomfort, Kagome was gently snoring about two feet away.

He rolled over again, squirming in his attempt to find a comfortable position. Under his breath, Inuyasha grumbled about "conspiring mothers" and "insensitive blue-eyed women."

"I am not insensitive!" Kagome snapped groggily, woken up by his not-so-inaudible complaints. She peered over the edge of the bed down at him, her eyes heavy with sleep.

"Well, if you weren't insensitive," Inuyasha countered heatedly, "Then you would have let the guest have the bed!"

"What?" the woman whispered incredulously "Technically I'm a guest here too!"

With a dramatic sigh, Inuyasha changed the subject. His eyes swept her old bedroom, taking in the décor. "Nice room. Were you one of those sunshiny teenagers?"

"For your information, I _like_yellow and blue!" she grumbled angrily.

"Feh," Inuyasha muttered.

"Will you just go to sleep?" she pleaded.

"I would if I could!"

Kagome paused before answering, and when she did, her voice was resigned. "Fine," she snapped. The covers rustled, and Inuyasha waited for her to climb out of bed to hit him for waking her up and refusing to keep quiet. Instead, when the rustling stopped, she was still lying down. When he glanced up tentatively, expecting to see her glaring at him, he instead saw that she had pulled back the covers in invitation.

"Well?" she asked, irritated when he didn't join her right away.

The idea of a soft bed and warm covers overuled any question in his mind, and Inuyasha climbed in quickly. "Good night," he mumbled around a yawn, suddenly finding it easy to sleep.

"You're like a child!" Kagome scolded, her mood lightened only by the fact that up close she got a better look at—and feel of—his muscled chest, which was obviously considering he didn't wear a shirt to bed.

* * *

Someone screamed. And then someone else screamed. And then a third voice from outside shouted, "Ohmygod! Ohmygod!"

Inside at the kitchen table, Kagome stumbled to her feet, trying to get a look out the window to see what all the commotion was about. Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha shared confused glances. Scrambling out of the room, still in her flannel pajamas, Kagome raced out the kitchen door.

Soon after she disappeared, the other adults heard her scream too—which would have thrown them all into a panic if she hadn't sounded so excited at whaterver or whoever she had found outside.

"_Ohmygod_!"

Wanting to make sure that their friend had not just been murdered by a gang of cheerleaders, the others followed out into the yard. What they found outside momentarily confused the hell out of them.

"Kagome!"

"Yuka!"

"Kags!"

"Eri!"

"Ka-Go-Me!"

"Ayumi!"

And then, finally, "_Ohmygod_!" all four screamed in unison.

"Oh my god," Inuyasha muttered faintly, struggling to comprehend.

"Oh my god," Sango agreed while watching the four ex-schoolgirls start to babble and giggle.

"Sweet Buddha," Miroku whispered with a faint smile on his face as he got a nice view of Kagome and another girl from behind. Subconsciously, he showed his excitement by groping Sango, who was standing right next to him. Naturally, she hit him. "Sango, darling, I swear! It has a mind of its own!" Miroku declared placing his hand delicately against his red and throbbing cheek.

"I'm sure it does, my _dearest_Miroku," Sango growled.

The four girls turned to look at the squabbling couple, and Kagome's friends almost stumbled in shock when they caught sight of Inuyasha's bare chest.

"Kagome! Whoa!" Eri squealed excitedly.

"I'd go with wow over woah!" Ayumi said, her sweet voice making the comment even more amusing to Kagome.

"Uh-huh," Yuka added intelligently, looking as if she might drooling at any second.

Kagome was laughing, but she still blushed pink in embarrassment. "Don't stare, you guys! It's rude," she scolded her friends.

"Actually, I don't really mind," Inuyasha admitted with a shrug and a wink.

Eri giggled in response before turning to Yuka and Ayumi. The three shared an intense, silent look before they reached out and grabbed Kagome by the arms, dragging her several meters away to begin a giggling, whispered conversation out of Inuyasha's earshot.

Within seconds, Kagome was fighting to get away from them, her cheeks now flaming red. "Eri!" she shouted, waving her hands frantically to dismiss whatever her friends had said to her. "No!"

"But Kagome!" the girls argued in unison.

"I said _no_!" Kagome snapped, managing to pull away. Stomping back toward the kitchen doorway, she gave the startled Inuyasha the evil eye and grabbed Sango by the elbow. "I need the company of a _sane_woman now, please!"

The three girls left behind giggled, unoffended. "You know we're right, Kagome!" Yuka called after her, still laughing.

"No!" came the faint cry of a pissed off girl in the kitchen.

Rolling her eyes, Eri walked forward to eye the two men critically. "Is Kagome…" she started to ask, but the way she spoke made it clear that she was speaking more to herself than to them.

"No way," the other two, Yuka and Ayumi, countered as they came to flank Eri on either side. Miroku and Inuyasha started to fidget under their joint scrutiny.

"Yeah, but," Eri started, pointing at Inuyasha stubbornly, making him even more confused. "He is—!"

"Yes he is," Ayumi cut her off with a scolding tone, "But Kagome never went for guys like that!"

"Never?" Inuyasha asked hesitantly, feeling let down even if he didn't fully understand what they were talking about. He could guess, though.

"Nope," Yuka confirmed gently. "The last guy she really liked was really sweet. And her high school boyfriend was sweet, too. And then back in Junior High—"

"Oh, he was _really, really _sweet!" Ayumi agreed.

"Oh!" Eri squealed. "I remember him! I liked him."

Miroku, just happy to be surrounded by young women, kept his mouth shut. Now was the time to hear what girls talked about. In a way, it was research that could be used to get closer to Sango.

Inuyasha, however, snapped, "What guy in Junior High?"

Eri turned to him, her arms folded tightly over her chest. She ignored his outburst and eyed him up and down, her head tilted in thought. "Ayumi is right: Kagome _wouldn't_go for a guy like you."

"And why not?" Inuyasha felt offended. Who wouldn't have?

The three ex-schoolgirls shrugged dismissively and went into the kitchen to help themselves to some breakfast. Miroku and Inuyasha shared a look before following them.

"So," Yuka said thoughtfully, glancing back at the men. "Naraku's gone? We told her we didn't like him, but she wouldn't listen. Kagome insisted that he was sweet and charming, but he gave us the creeps."

"Yeah, he's gone," Inuyasha confirmed, his voice all growly since he still felt insulted. He resumed his meal, determined not to like these girls. What exactly was so bad about him?

* * *

Kagome studied Inuyasha's profile intensely, her friends' words from earlier running through her head and driving her crazy. _They're wrong_, she thought stubbornly, _I'm not going to end up with_ Inuyasha! Of course, the longer she looked at him, the more she wished she was wrong. He was definitely attractive.

On the downside, he was also loud, arrogant, rude, egotistical, insensitive, and a jerk!

Then again, he helped her out so much in the past weeks. He was a good friend and a decent role model for the boys. Plus, he was protective and could be nice when he put his mind to it. She also loved his car.

Now she was just confusing herself.

With a groan, she leaned back into the couch, unable to concentrate on the gossiping ex-schoolgirls who were chatting about everything that had happened in Kyoto since the last time they'd talked. Kagome wondered if maybe her friends had been right. Would it really be that bad if she were interested in him?

When she glanced at Inuyasha again, he turned just in time to catch her eyes. A butterfly feeling flooded Kagome's stomach, and she quickly broken eye contact. She instantly blamed Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi for planting the idea in her head. They had her doubting her friendship with Inuyasha and wishing it was more.

Shaking her head violently, Kagome forced herself to focus on what her friends were saying.

"Remember Kin and Gin from high school? They got married and just had a baby," Ayumi was saying excitedly.

Kagome burst into giggles, thoroughly confusing almost everyone.

"What's so funny?" Eri asked, frowning.

"Kin and Gin, gold and silver!" Kagome said as though that explained everything.

"What?" Ayumi questioned, confused.

"Kin means 'golden,' and Gin means 'silvery,'" Inuyasha explained, clearly unamused. "Apparently their names are funny to this idiot."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screeched, throwing a decorative throw pillow at the laughing man.

"Hey, Inuyasha?" Eri asked to get his attention, watching the whole scene with a frown.

"Yeah?"

"That's why," she said simply.

"Oh," Inuyasha muttered, although he wasn't sure he fully understood. Kagome wouldn't go for a guy like him, because he'd understood what made her laugh when no one else had?

Or was Eri talking about how he'd just insulted Kagome?

Neither honestly seemed all that imporant to him.

It was then that the doorbell rang, and Kagome immediately trudged off to answer it.

"Kouga!" Kagome yelled, excited, when she found her old friend on the other side.

He promptly handed over a bouquet of orchids with a charming smile. "Here you go, Kagome."

"Thanks! I love them," she told him gratefully, burying her face into the petals and inhaling their scent deeply.

Everyone was watching this exchange, and Kagome's friends took the opportunity to school Inuyasha. Yuka nudged the glowering Inuyasha in his side. "See that?"

"What about it?" Inuyasha asked gruffly, his eyes narrowed to slits.

"Kagome goes for that kind of guy," Ayumi explained in a whisper to keep from drawing unnecessary attention to their conversation.

"What? A wimp?"

"No!" Eri rolled her eyes. "A _sweet_guy; one who brings her flowers and compliments her."

"You don't really strike us as that kind of guy," Yuka whispered.

"Feh." He sulked and pouted in an armchair, watching the duo at the door unhappily. When Kouga gave Kagome a hug and a peck on the cheek, Inuyasha left the room in a huff, muttered, "Disgusting," under his breath.

"What's his problem?" Kouga asked innocently, an arm still wrapped around his friend's waist.

"I don't know." Kagome shrugged, going back to chatting with her old friends.

* * *

An hour later, Miroku and Sango excused themselves to take a stroll around the grounds of the shrine. He had slung an arm around her shoulders, and so far, he was behaving himself.

"What was your girl chat about?" Miroku asked.

He felt his arm lift up and down as his girlfriend—for yes, you see, they had made it official; Kagome and Inuyasha just hadn't quiet caught on yet— shrugged. "Kagome was upset, because those three friends of hers were hounding her about dating Inuyasha; they said a relationship was bound to happen. Kagome walked off about the time they started to tell her how perfect Inuyasha looked."

Miroku looked thoughtful. "So," he said finally, dragging the word out. "Do you think I'm perfect looking, too?"

* * *

During dinner that night, the phone in the kitchen started to ring.

"I'll get that," Kagome said, excusing herself from the table. She ran into the room and plucked the phone from the wall. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ms. Higurashi," a cold voice drawled, the voice sounding almost sinister over the static.

Kagome gasped.

But it _couldn't_be!

And yet it was!

...

...

...

"Kagura!" Kagome greeted the caller excitedly.

Her yell brought Inuyasha into the kitchen. He stood in the doorway, watching Kagome from behind, fighting the sudden, undeniable urge to hold her. It wouldn't seem so strange if he hadn't done it so many times before. But those times were to comfort her—and this time, it would be to comfort _him_.

"Is it really her?" he asked quietly, leaning forward to whisper in her ear. She shivered when she felt his breath on her neck.

"Yeah," she mouthed silently, glancing over her shoulder at him. It put them almost nose-to-nose, and after a second, she looked forward again. "Kagura, thank you!" she said loudly into the phone. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you that time you called, and I'm so thankful that you let me—"

"Kagome! Be quiet, please," Kagura cut her off with a chuckle. "I'm just glad that you learned from your mistake. I heard our favorite criminal is finally gone."

"Yeah, he is. And _ew_, what a way to go, right?" Kagome wrinkled her nose.

At that, Kagura laughed openly. "Oh, I agree. I just wanted to thank that guy friend of yours for helping get rid of him."

Kagome covered the mouthpiece and whispered over her shoulder, "She says thanks."

"No problem." Inuyasha shrugged, still standing as close as he could to the young woman without actually touching her; being that near to her made the need to hold her stronger, unfortunate. Stubbornly, he kept his arms at his sides.

"He says you're welcome," Kagome relayed into the phone. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. My sister, Kanna, and I are on… vacation. We'll be back in Kyoto soon, I think."

"That's wonderful! Give me a call when you're back, please?" Kagome pleaded, feeling very close to this woman. Despite their difference, they had managed to form a bond.

"Of course."

"Take care of yourself, Kagura. I'll talk to you soon."

"You too, Kagome."

"Thanks," Kagome repeated before she hung up. "Kagura is doing fine," she told Inuyasha, noticing how close to her he was standing.

As if sensing her unease at their nearness, he shrugged and walked from the room. "Good," she heard him call over his shoulder.

When she joined everyone back at the dining table, they were oddly silent. "What's going on?" she asked hesitantly, taking her seat and peering at the faces around her.

"I was just telling everyone that I went through the mail that piled up while you were gone," Mrs. Higurashi explained. She paused there, but clearly that was not the end of her explanation for the sudden mood shift. "You work sent an official letter of termination, because you had just an extended period of unexplained absense."

"Oh," Kagome said very quietly, dropping her gaze to her plate. She'd suddenly lost her appetite. "I guess that's not really at that surprising."

"Don't worry, dear, I'm sure everything will work out," her mother told her supportively, reaching over to pat her on the hand.

* * *

That night, long after everyone had excused themselves to bed except her and Inuyasha, Kagome showed him a ladder that led to the roof of the shrine. She brought a blanket thrown over her shoulder, and when they got to the top, she spread it out for them to sit on. Kagome curled up at his side, throwing a second blanket over both of their shoulders. From that vantage point, above the trees, they could see more stars than they could count in a lifetime.

"Inuyasha?" she asked gently, keeping her eyes on the sky instead of turning them to him.

"What?"

"Are you okay? You've been acting weird since Naraku died."

"I'm fine," he assured her, but his tone of voice sounded a little down. "How about you?"

"I guess so."

"Kagome?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you planning to do now?" he questioned, looking down at her. Her face was still turned upward, which let him see the outline of her profile against the night backdrop.

"I'm going to catch up with Mama," she told him, sounding uncertain. "I need to look for another job, too, now."

There were several minutes of silence, and Kagome didn't miss the way Inuyasha was squirming restless on the blanket. Finally, he seemed to come to a conclusion. "Kagome?" he said again, his voice softer than she'd ever heard it.

"Yes, Inuyasha?"

"Will you…"

Kagome turned her blue eyes to him, and he couldn't read the emotions he saw there. "Yes?"

"Will you stay with me?"

**Next Chapter: Loose Ends**


	22. Loose Ends

Edited: 7/21/2011

Disclaimer: I do not own _Inuyasha_.

* * *

Dashed Hopes

Chapter Twenty-Two: Loose Ends

* * *

"What?" Kagome whispered, peering up at him.

For just a second, his eyes glanced away. When he met her gaze again, he had an odd expression on his face. "I asked if you would stay with us."

Startled, she frowned, which made him nervous. It wasn't every day that you ask someone to move to a new city to stay with you and your friends, and when that someone frowns… it seemed ominous.

Thankfully, Kagome was soon smiling. "Actually, I'd love to stay with you guys in Tokyo," she told him sincerely. She had been temporarily thrown when he'd repeated himself, asking her to stay with _us _instead of _me_, which is what she could have sworn he'd said originally. Kagome shook her head quickly, thinking that maybe she'd misheard him, because that's what she'd wanted to hear him say. Then again, that thought made her feel a little uneasy—why would Inuyasha asking her to stay with him be better than Inuyasha asking her to stay with everyone?

They shared a grin, and both of them felt relieved now that the question had been settled. Kagome had been afraid to ask if they would mind if she did move, and up until then, Inuyasha had been afraid to ask her to do so.

"I'll talk to my family in the morning," she said, unwrapping the blanket from around her shoulders and giving the excess to Inuyasha. "We'll have a lot of decisions to make." With one last smile, Kagome climbed down the ladder to the ground and went inside.

As soon as he heard the front door shut tight behind her, Inuyasha let out the deep breath he'd been holding. He laid down on his back, watching the night sky. It had been close— _too _close, really. Thank goodness he'd learned to lie so well due to dealing with Sesshoumaru for so many years.

He couldn't believe he'd let that "me" slip when he'd asked her the question the first time. All night, he'd been planning, "Will you stay with us?" And when the moment finally arrived, he'd been stupid and sentimental and too vulnerable by saying instead, "Will you stay with _me_?"

There was no way Kagome would have seriously considered moving to Tokyo if he suddenly complicated things with affection beyond friendship!

Thank goodness he'd had the chance to repeat himself using the proper words. Hopefully, Kagome had completely missed the "me."

* * *

"What about work?" Sango asked, leaning her elbows onto the coffee table.

Kagome looked pleadingly back at her for a suggestion. They'd been working out the kinks in the plan to stay in Tokyo; she'd completely forgotten about the major things. Like money, shelter, and a job, for example.

"What you mean 'what about work?' Kagome already has a job!" Inuyasha snapped from where he was lounging on the couch.

"You mean I can stay at the Inutaisho Company?" Kagome asked hopefully.

"Did Sesshoumaru fire you or something? I told you not to put that fake spider in his coffee!" Inuyasha glared at her heatedly.

"No, Sesshoumaru didn't fire me, but I thought that now that the whole Naraku thing was over, you'd let me go since I didn't need the cover story anymore," Kagome explained slowly, her eyes glued on her feet.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You're a hell of a lot better than most of the losers who work at—!"

"—The great, magnificent, wonderful, amazing, perfect Inutaisho Company?" Kagome finished, suddenly all smiles.

"Yeah, okay, I guess that's one way to describe it." He seemed almost frightened by the waves of gratitude coming off of her.

"So, what about a home?" Sango asked once things has settled down.

"Seriously, Sango? Just like she already had a job, Kagome has a home with me—and my brother!"

"Actually, I think I have an answer for that," Kagome told Sango excitedly, grinning around at everyone. "I've been waiting for just the right time to tell you all. I mean, it's a little weird, but at the same time, I guess it's kind of lucky!"

"What are you talking about?" Miroku asked pleasantly, sipping his tea.

"Well, you see, I just heard back from Detective Yagi yesterday, and…" she trailed off, struggling to word what she wanted to say properly.

"What?" Inuyasha prodded in an exasperated voice when she didn't finish her thought immediately.

"You see, Naraku, he kind of…"

"Yes?" Sango pushed, reaching over to pat Kagome's hand supportively. "What did he do?"

In a rush, Kagome explained, "I'm the only person listed in Naraku's will. I get everything."

"Everything?" Sango echoed, stunned.

"Yeah. The city is working on shutting down all of Naraku's companies—it turns out he had several small ones that he never told me about—and they are using funds from selling the office space to give employees severance packages. All the money Naraku owes has been paid off, but it still leaves a pretty big pile of it that the state can't get their hands on."

"So?" Miroku asked.

"_So_, I now have enough money to live off of comfortably. Plus, any property Naraku owned is now in my name, including a flat in Paris and our old apartment in Kyoto. I was going to sell them both, as well as Naraku's cars, and then use the money… well, I haven't thought it through that far yet."

"Sounds like the bastard was actually good for something," Inuyasha commented lightly.

"Inuyasha! You can't speak of the dead so horribly, even if it _was_ Naraku!" Kagome scolded.

"Anyway," Sango said to redirect Kagome's focus.

"Right! The only thing I plan on keeping is the pickup truck; I'm even getting rid of my Lexus," Kagome concluded.

Sango leaned into the back of the couch, mentally tallying off a list that only she could see. "That covers work and transportation, but there's a lot more to living on your own than that."

"I know," Kagome admitted. "But I do have some more good news."

"Really?" Inuyasha asked, but since he was balancing a pencil on the tip of his nose, he didn't seem very invested in what Kagome was talking about.

"Yes, really." Kagome reached over and shoved Inuyasha out of his seat. As he toppled to the floor.

"And that would be...?" Mrs. Higurashi asked as she stepped over Inuyasha's body lying on her living room floor, entering the living room.

"There is one more property owned by Naraku. It's only about two blocks from the Inutaisho building in Tokyo; it's a penthouse suite. I'll be living there, but that's not the good news."

"Okay, I'll bite," Inuyasha grumbled, taking his seat again. He was trying to find the fact that he was hurt by how easily Kagome was talking about moving out of his—and Sesshoumaru's!—house. "What's the good news?"

"The penthouse is huge, I'm talking serous luxury here. Three bedroom, two full bathrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen, and a mini-bar. It's like a house," Kagome described it excitedly. "Detective Yagi said he'd give me the keys once I get back in Tokyo."

"Sorry to burst your dream-filled bubble, but that place has to have a hell of an up-keep," Inuyasha pointed out practically.

Kagome continued on as if she hadn't heard him. "The best news is that Kagura's brother, some guy with purple hair I think I met once, and he just bought in on the apartment complex. Kagura told me not to ask how he can afford it… My point is, he promised me free water and electricity for as long as I want to live there."

"My goodness, this Kagura woman must really adore you, Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi pointed out thoughtfully.

Kagome grinned. "I think so, too. I'll still have to pay for phone, cable, and stuff like that, but this will really help me out. I will have less to worry about."

"Exactly how much money did you inherit?" Sango questioned curiously.

"Detective Yagi won't give me specifics yet, but he made it sound like it was quite a bit. No matter how much I end up with, I'm donating a big chunk to the Sakura Hide-Away shelter."

"Oh, Kagome!"

"I'm happy to do it! Right after I pay you back for those clothes, of course," Kagome added with a laugh.

If Sango were the squealing type, she would have squealed. "Thank you. You really are one of a kind," the brunette told the other woman sincerely.

"I should donate more often if I get this kind of response!" Kagome joked.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Nah, I'd keep the money."

Kagome nudged him with her foot. "And I remember someone saying that _I _was the insensitive one!"

Inuyasha smirked. "Well, if the shoe fits..."

"Be nice, you two," Sango scolded them, complete with a finger wag.

Kagome cracked a small grin. "Yes, mother."

Sango's smile slipped, and her eyes narrowed with a playful glint of fury. "Are you by any chance calling me _old_?"

"Yes!" she shouted, jumping out of her seat and running from the room, laughing.

Sango sprang up and gave chase. "Get back her you ungrateful little girl!"

"No way, _mother_!" Kagome yelled as she raced down the hall.

* * *

Later that evening, Kagome went through her old closet and dresser and pulled out all the clothes from when she was seventeen that wouldn't fit anymore. She'd decided to donate it all to the women at the shelter.

"I'm going with you to Tokyo, right?" Shippou asked from the doorway, startling Kagome.

"Of course, sweetie," she promised, turning away from the suitcases she was packing the clothes into and crouching down in front of the little boy. "You'll have a whole new building to make friends in."

"And what about me?" Souta asked; he was standing just behind Shippou, looking far too forlorn for a kid that young.

Kagome paused, considering. "It's up to you, Souta."

"What do you mean?"

His older sister sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You've been away from Mama for so long. Don't you want to spend time with her? Go back to your old school and see your old friends?"

"Do you want to get rid of me?" Souta's lower lip trembled, a sign that he was about to burst into tears.

"No, of course not! I love you, Souta, and I'd never want to get rid of you. I just want you to be happy." Kagome took a step towards her little brother, wishing he'd act more like a pest and less like a depressed adult.

"Well… I want to stay with you," he responded slowly. "We'll visit Mom every holiday and talk to her every night, right? What's the big deal?"

"I'd love it if you stayed with me Souta. Who'd get me up by pouring a bucket of ice water on my head on my slow days?" Kagome laughed lightly, but then trailed off, becoming serious once again. "What about school?"

Souta perked up instantly. "Can't I just not go?"

"If I had to suffer through all those years, you are so not going to miss them!" She ruffled his hair, and Souta shoved her hand off. Immediately, he started to finger comb it back into place.

"If I can talk Kohaku into going to a public school in Tokyo instead of being homeschooled, could we go to the same one?"

"I don't see why not," Kagome agreed. "We'll have to talk to Sango about it first, though."

"Yay!" Souta cheered, his whole face brightening.

"What about me?" The redheaded boy asked; he obviously felt left out.

"You'll be in a different grade, but you'll get to see them. Plus, it's another chance to make new friends!"

The three shared a hug, cementing their relationship. Not even Naraku could have ruined the way Kagome felt about the two most important little boys in her life. Kagome released them and pushed them towards the door, she watched them run off before looking back to the suitcases.

Inuyasha stumbled a little when the two boys raced past him. "Whoa! Hey, watch it!"

"Sorry!" they chorused.

"Feh," he muttered grumpily.

"Hello, Inuyasha!" Kagome greeted cheerfully as he stepped in even though her back was turned to him; she was trying to finish folding all of the clothes.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Oh I don't know. Maybe I can sense you or something?" Kagome joked lightly. "Actually," she added seriously, "I think the shouting and the 'feh' gave it away."

"Oh. Right."

Kagome sighed and quickened her packing. "Before I head back, I think I'll go shopping."

"When's that?"

"When's what? Me leaving? Well," Kagome dragged the word out, finally turning to face him. "_You_ can leave any time."

"What?"

Kagome frowned at the look on his face; he seemed almost crest-fallen. "You, Sango, Kohaku, and Mirkou can leave whenever," she explained with a shrug. "I can drive back in the pickup. I'll stop by your place to get any of the things we left behind. There's no reason you should wait in Kyoto for me."

"Feh. If I stayed it wouldn't be because of you, it'd be like a vacation or something." Inuyasha crossed his arms stubbornly across his chest, but then winced at her hurt expression. "But I think we'll stay."

"Hmm," Kagome hummed noncommittally before turning back to her packing. He did, however, notice that she didn't look quite as hurt. At the same time, she seemed trouble; she had in fact noticed that now that Naraku was gone, she and Inuyasha were getting into more and more fights. She had thought about asking if they could stay with him until the apartment was ready to be moved into, but now Kagome doubted herself. Maybe Sango wouldn't mind a little extra company?

"Hey, Kagome?"

"Yeah?" she asked, not turning around.

Inuyasha was silent for a long time, watching her meticulously fold and pack clothes. Finally, he sighed. "Never mind."

"Sure." Kagome actually scowled down at her busy hands. She and Inuyasha seemed to be so tense lately that they couldn't even have a conversation without a strained pause!

"See you," he muttered.

"Okay," she said quietly.

Inuyasha turned and walked out the door, pausing in the hallway. He just hadn't been able to bring himself to tell her how much he'd miss her sleeping right next door to him.

* * *

"Sango?" Kagome called, stepping out into the yard. She looked around, finally spotting her friend sitting at the top of the shrine steps and watching the cars pass by below. "Hey!"

"Hi, Kagome," Sango murmured; the days they had been in Kyoto left her feeling very relaxed.

"I have a favor to ask," the other woman began apologetically, sitting down next to the brunette.

"Go on Kagome, I don't mind." Sango looked over for a second before turning away again, not wanting to make Kagome—who already seemed extra fidgety—feel uncomfortable.

"Can we stay over at your house for a few days? Just until the penthouse place is ready for us?"

"Sure! It'll be nice to have company again, especially you. Don't get me wrong, Miroku and Inuyasha are okay, but if you mention the words 'pantyhose' or 'bikini wax' or even 'nail polish,' they'll be out of the room so fast you can actually feel a breeze."

Appreciating the mental image, Kagome laughed. "I can just see them slinking out with their tails between their legs. They act so tough, but they're really just softies."

"Do you have the clothes for the SHA all packed?"

"Yeah. I stopped by the old apartment, too, the one I shared with Naraku, and I gathered up all my things. I'm all packed. Now all I have to do is wait for a policeman to deliver Naraku's pickup where they're holding it at the impound lot," Kagome informed her while leaning forward and wrapping her sweater tighter around her.

"I can feel winter coming," Sango muttered, not exactly sounding happy about it. Her mood was noticeably darker. "My parents died during wintertime."

Kagome reached out and hugged Sango with one arm. "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks." Sango said sincerely, remembering that Kagome had lost her father, so she didn't mean the words as an empty gesture. The brunette shivered since her jacket was still inside.

"Hey, why don't we visit the cemetery when we get back? I'd like to see where they're buried."

Sango nodded. "Sure, Kagome, that sounds nice."

"Well!" Kagome turned a bright smile on her friend. "I'm heading in. Tomorrow, I have something I need to get done, and then we can head back to Tokyo. I'm sure the boys are getting impatient with me..."

"Good night Kagome, I'll see you in the morning," Sango called over her shoulder as Kagome walked back towards the house.

* * *

The following morning, just after the sun was rising and when the sky was pink and orange with the dawn light, Kagome knelt down on the solid ground. She could hear the dead, brittle grass brush against her black skirt as she leaned forward to place a bouquet next to the tombstone.

"Hi, Daddy," she whispered, her eyes overflowing with tears. No matter how much time had passed, it still hurt. "I… made a mistake a little while ago. I was with someone who put my loved ones in danger. He's dead now, but we made it out all right I guess— Souta, Shippou, and I. You never met Shippou. He's a ball of energy, all sweet and innocent, and maybe even a little annoying sometimes. Then again, aren't we all? Even though he's my adopted son, he's more like a little brother. There are days that I forget he's not actually family by blood.

"Anyway, Naraku (that's the guy's name, by the way) is dead. I wouldn't wish that kind of death on anyone, but I can't go back and change the past. But some good things happened because of all of this. I won't take my friends and family for granted anymore, and I even made some new friends.

"You'd like Sango. She's really strong and stands up for herself, but she loves taking care of people, too. She has a little brother, Kohaku, who'd she'd give her life for.

"And then there's Miroku. He's very… interesting. He has his share of problems, but he's always so wise and calm and understanding. You just know you can trust him. Of course, that ends up coming back and biting you in the ass later. Or, well, patting you on the ass. …Never mind.

"Finally, there's Inuyasha. I don't really know how to explain him. He's always changing. Sometimes he's sarcastic and rude, or—more rarely— he's quiet and thoughtful. Lately he's been so… different. I catch him watching me sometimes with an expression that I can't figure out. He tries so hard to be nice but always ends up sticking his foot in his mouth. I just hope he doesn't push me away; I'd like to get to know him better.

"We all met under strange circumstances, and I think that's what brought us closer together. I'm going to do everything I can to learn more about them. If I ask questions, I might understand them more. You can't learn something if you don't ask, right?

"I miss you, Daddy, and I hope everything's amazing wherever you are. When I see you again, I just want to spend hours talking. Until then, I promise to come and visit you here more often than I have been. I love you, and I miss you. I'll, uh, I'll see you later, Daddy."

Kagome sniffled a bit and cleared her throat, reminding herself that there were many more good memories than bad for her to lean on. Blowing a soft kiss to the grave, she turned on her heel and began to walk away from the grassy hill that sat in a clearing not too far away from her home.

As she reentered the woods, from the corner of her eye, she caught glimpses of her ancestor's tombstone that had guarded the shrine for generations. Soon, sadly, Grandfather would be buried there, and then her mother, and hopefully a long time after, Kagome herself.

* * *

"Good bye, Dear, I'll see you soon! Call as soon as you get in to tell me you arrived safely. I love you and take care of yourself." Mrs. Higurashi hugged her daughter tightly with only the smallest sniffle. She reminded herself that saying goodbye to Kagome this time was not like in the past—Kagome was going somewhere where she was loved and safe and happy, and the communication lines were fully open again. There was no Naraku looming over her daughter's shoulder, keeping her isolated, anymore.

"I will, Mama," Kagome assured. "We'll visit as often as we can and call every night. We have to hurry now; Miroku and Sango already have a good head start on us with the other cars and the children. I love you." Kagome pecked her mother on the cheek, gave her hands one last squeeze, and then jogged off towards the pickup truck where Inuyasha was waiting. "Bye, Mama!"

"Bye, Dear!" Mrs. Higurashi shouted as she waved from the foot of the steps. Her daughter climbed into the cab of the unnecessarily large vehicle. "And good bye, Inuyasha! It was great meeting you. You're like a son!"

"Wait, _what_?" Inuyasha stuck his head out, his eyes wide and stunned, but before he could say anything else, Kagome turned the engine over and the rumbling effectively cut him off.

_Within half an hour, the two were on their way home to Tokyo. Mostly, Inuyasha kept his mouth shut, only fiddling with the radio. Unfortunately, he had the attention span of a gnat, and he soon found himself fidgeting in his seat. _

"Hey, you know that you really lucked out, right? You're pretty much getting everything handed to you on a silver platter, like the penthouse suite and the money," he told Kagome with a shrewd expression on his face.

Kagome rolled her blue eyes, not taking his comments to heart. "You realize that you inherited a multi-million dollar company through your family, right? You've got the Inutaisho Company, a refurbished _feudal castle _as your house, a huge pile of money, and you look like a movie star thanks to your ridiculously good genes. It's about time Karma gave the rest of us a chance."

"Oh, yeah, I guess I am pretty lucky," Inuyasha muttered thoughtfully, having easily forgotten about his own good fortune. Then again, he had grown up with all those advantages; sometimes he really did just forget.

"You really are," Kagome said quietly while keeping her eyes on the road. She carefully steered the pickup alongside all of the tiny Japanese cars.

They descended once more into silence as Inuyasha considered her words. He concluded that maybe she was right; he did take the easy way in life, and he had a tendency to always come out on top. Perhaps he should be more grateful.

"By the way, I know I was really lucky, but don't you think it was also kind of fair?" Kagome bit her tongue as soon as the words were out, worrying that she sounded too conceited. "What I mean is: after what I went through with Naraku, don't I deserve a chance at happiness too?"

Inuyasha glanced at her quickly before looking away. "Yeah, I guess so."

Kagome sighed and stared harder at the pavement ahead of her. She had sounded too selfish, but she believed what she'd said. So many bad things seemed to follow her around, and she figured it was about time she got a shot at straightening out her life. If she happened to have a little extra help along the way, was that really so bad?

"How much longer do you think?"

"We should be back in Tokyo in about an hour and a half, I think." She hesitated before saying, "Sorry, Inuyasha."

"What about this time?" he asked gruffly, confusion leaking through to his voice.

"I don't know. I just feel like I should say it."

* * *

Four days later, on the streets of Tokyo during their lunch break, Ayame stared wide-eyed at Kagome. "Well… shit."

Kagome chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of her neck, in embarrassment. "Yeah. So now you know."

"That _really_ happened?" her green-eyed friend whispered, leaning forward until Kagome was forced to take a step back to maintain her preferred personal space.

"Yeah, it really did."

"Kagome…" Ayame's voice was strained. "You could have told me, you know."

"Almost no one knew; I'm sorry Ayame," she apologized sincerely, waving a placating hand at her coworker.

After some careful consideration, the redhead shrugged. "It's okay. Don't worry about it."

Kagome nodded absently. "Thanks."

"So," Ayame began, her eyes surveying their surroundings. It looked as though her mind was racing a million miles per minute as she tried to put everything into place now that she knew Kagome's situation. Somehow, it seemed to explain a lot of things that had never really fit before—such as how easily Kagome had gotten her position at the company without any gossip about Inuyasha even hiring, or her coming in for an interview; now that Ayame thought about it, she realized that it also explained the way Kagome and Inuyasha had acted around each other, even on their very first day. "Your last name is Higurashi?"

Kagome nodded.

"I like it!" the redhead announced with a firm nod of her head; her pigtails bounced. "It fits you. It's sway."

"Thanks!" _I think_, Kagome added silently.

Ayame refocused her attention on the vanilla ice cream cone in her hand, managing to catch a drip before it fell to the ground. "How's yours?"

She smiled and took another bite of her sundae. "Very… sway?" Kagome tried the word, and it felt silly and awkward on her tongue.

It didn't help that Ayame burst into giggles. Kagome blushed and shrugged, deciding it had been worth a try. "Let's head back. That big company announcement is in less than an hour," she reminding the redhead.

"Do you know what it's about?" Ayame asked, quirking an eyebrow. The pigtail and the ice cream cone made her look like a little kid.

Kagome shook her head to show that she didn't have a clue.

They finished their treat on the way to company office, and the two women parted way in the lobby. Kagome headed towards the elevator, realizing just how different the building seemed during the day and packed with people than it had on that terrifying night. It had been difficult to drive in that day, and she'd had to forcefully keep her eyes from straying to the spot where she'd seen Naraku's body.

As she was waiting for the elevator, someone stepped up beside. Kagome looked over and saw an elbow, so she tilted her head upwards, recognizing the statuesque Sesshoumaru before even getting to his face. The expensive suit and impeccable hair gave it away. Their ride arrived, and they stepped inside together.

"It is good to see you looking so well, Ms. Higurashi," Sesshoumaru told the young woman politely. He managed to gracefully push the button for his floor.

"Thank you."

The inside of the elevator doors was polished metal, and Kagome studied her reflection. Sesshoumaru was right; she did look a lot better. Without the constant stress in her life, her skin was a little rosy instead of deathly pale and her hair had never looked healthier. Of course, even with that great head of hair, Kagome couldn't help but envy her boss's perfect, silky, silver tresses.

Kagome waved happily at her older boss as he got off on his floor, and then she rode the elevator one higher. When she stepped off, she found Inuyasha standing over her desk, studying some paperwork in his hand.

"Hey, wench," he grumbled when he looked up and spotted her.

"Hey, jerk," she snapped right back, but her tone was mostly playful.

"How's it going?" Inuyasha asked, setting the file down on top of her desk. Kagome realized he'd decided to make her go over it instead of just going it himself.

"Well it _was_ going good," Kagome began coyly, stepping closer to him with a serious look on her face. "But not anymore, because now…"

"Yeah?"

"I saw you!" Kagome gave a mock shriek when he lunged at her. She easily dodged, laughing lightly.

"You're such a bitch! That was just rude and mean," he muttered with a sulk.

Kagome scoffed openly. "As if _you're_ not always rude and mean."

"You forgot petty; I'm petty too," the younger Mr. Youkai pointed out with a smirk. "And devilishly handsome, of course."

Naturally, Kagome couldn't argue with that. Instead she looked away, blushing just a bit. His confidence officially boosted, Inuyasha approached her and wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging his secretary close to his side. Kagome blushed even more and tried to pry the arm off, but it only tightened. "Inuyasha?"

"Is there a problem?" he asked smugly.

Kagome sighed in defeat. "Never mind," she stated with the utmost exasperation, remembering just how stubborn he was.

"Any news from Kagura?"

Kagome smiled brightly. "I talked to her yesterday, the morning after we got back."

"And?"

Vehemently, Kagome pushed away the fact that physical contact with Inuyasha was making her feel a little light-headed, and she'd lost her train of thought. "She's okay. As soon as I found out about that flat in Paris I inherited, I told them to stay there. I won't sell it off until they're in the clear and come back home." Kagome hesitated, trying to come up with a verbal reason to tell Inuyasha that he should let go of her. It was starting to make her heart do a weird tap-dancing thing. Thankfully, she noticed the clock overhead. "Oh! We should get going! You and Sesshoumaru have an announcement you want to make to the company, right? …Speaking of, just what _is _your big announcement?"

Inuyasha retracted his arm and began to head towards the elevators. "You'll see," he responded lightly in an almost sing-song voice. It made Kagome even more suspicious.

"I guess I'll have to," she muttered, defeated.

"Good girl. Let's get moving," he demanded. When she came to stand next to him, he draped his arm over her shoulders without really thinking about; Inuyasha missed the way Kagome's eyes narrowed.

Over the past two days, she had noticed that he touched her any chance he got. He was always touching her hand, holding her around her waist or her shoulders, and he had even brushed back her hair form her forehead once. Mostly, she didn't really mind it, even if it was a bit unusual—however, everyone once in awhile, Naraku's words came back to her.

_"And then there's Inuyasha… He doesn't care for you, in any way at all. He's a shallow playboy who sleeps around with anyone who will have him. He'd just use you and throw you away."_

What if… What if Naraku had been right?

Despite their first few days of arguments and fights, especially while she had been deciding whether to move back to Kyoto or officially stay in Tokyo, Inuyasha had suddenly become so physical with her. He was so flirty and playful. She was getting to know a side of him that she hadn't really seen before; and if he really was a shallow playboy, Kagome wasn't sure she really wanted to give him a chance to make her regret trusting him.

Kagome shook her head to clear away the unwanted thoughts.

She shrugged off Inuyasha's arm and pushed ahead, entering the elevator and settling in the corner away from him. Kagome missed the look of hurt that crossed his face at her rejection, too busy thinking.

At the moment, she was reminding herself that they were _friends_, and that she had no reason to think he might be attracted to her. Really, she was just being vain and egotistical—Inuyasha had a million prospects, why would he ever be tempted by her? She remembered Yura, how voluptuous and seductive the ex-girlfriend had been. Clearly, Kagome wasn't Inuyasha's type.

Even in death, Naraku had her acting paranoid.

Studying her shoes, Kagome concluded that she would just have to take everything in stride and not worry about something silly like Inuyasha wanting to date her (or "use her and throw her away") unless it actually crossed her path. Inuyasha seeing her as more was not something she ever planned on happening.

When they met in the large auditorium in the basement of the building, Kagome and Inuyasha separated. He approached Sesshoumaru at the podium, while Kagome stood off to the side on the stage, hidden behind a table of board members and other important executives that she had never really dealt with. In the crowd, she could pick out Hojo, Ayame, and Nobunaga—and she waved at them excitedly with a broad smile.

The employees fell silent with Inuyasha raised his hands to gain their attention. "You all know Kagome Higurashi," Inuyasha started, speaking into the microphone. He broke off when a murmur raced through the crowd; everyone (except Ayame) looked confused, and they all shook their heads, turning to one another to whisper. "Wait—okay, fine! You all know Kagome _Shashu_."

There was an audible noise of understanding as the majority of people smiled and nodded; some even found Kagome on the stage and waved at her. Self-consciously, she waved back. Inuyasha couldn't help but notice that the most enthusiastic response came from the men; he stubbornly pushed away a crushing wave of irritation.

"Anyway, her real—just call her Higurashi from now on," he tried to explain, obviously failing miserably. People against looked bewildered. Kagome mentally slammed her head into a wall, reveling at how ill-equipped Inuyasha was at speaking publically.

With a silent sigh, Sesshoumaru snatched the microphone from his half-brother's hands. He tossed a look at Kagome, somehow managing to convey that he was about to save the day—although, technically, his expression never changed from one of complete boredom. Kagome still thought she understood what he was aiming for. "Quiet," Sesshoumaru commanded. The entire employee base fell silent.

Inuyasha scowled but secretly welcomed the fact that he could stop _trying_. Sometimes, effort seemed like such a waste to him, especially when it came to words.

"Kagome Shashu, who will now be referred to for personal reasons, has been..." Sesshoumaru paused, carefully picking out the right word. "_Rewarded_," he said finally, deciding that was the closest one, "For her determination and hard work."

"I have?" Kagome called out, confused. A few coworkers laughed.

"Ms. Higurashi," Sesshoumaru said simply. She shut her mouth immediately.

Mentally, she reevaluated what was going on. At first when the Youkai brothers had announced this "emergency company announcement," she had assumed that they would be feeding the employee base some partial explanation for the police activity over the last few days. Rumors had been running rampant, and most of her coworkers were convinced there had been a drug ring. Not even the media had been saying much about what was going on other than the fact that Naraku, who was known to associate with drug dealers, had fallen off the roof of the company building and died upon impact. No other explanation had been issued by the police so far.

Now, she had no idea what the brothers were about to announce. What on earth did her being a hard worker have to do with anything?

"A few of you might not know of whom we are speaking of. Kagome Higurashi is the secretary and personal assistant to both my brother and me. Some of you may not know this, but Kagome has helped out with most of the publicity jobs in the month she has been with us, and she had accepted and handled many side jobs in addition to her official duties."

Sesshoumaru paused here, allowing the information to sink it. Many workers gaped at him, having never heard this many words from the elder Youkai during all of their employment.

"While here, she has shown a great aptitude for management. Not only has she shown creativity and genius during her marketing assignments, but she has the business degrees to back it up. I am sure many of you around the building have noticed her attention to detail and skills."

Inuyasha grabbed the microphone back, feeling that he could take over from that point on; Sesshoumaru had gotten the hard part out of the way. He couldn't wait to see the look on Kagome's face when he told her. She'd just have to _love _him for it...

Or at least he hoped that she'd enjoy it.

Inuyasha knew in that moment that he wanted to be closer to her; he just wasn't quite sure how to do it.

"So," he announced, stepping forward, "Because of Kagome's solid loyalty to the Inutaisho Company and the impressive knowledge base she had already built in such a short time, we have an amazing announcement!"

He mentally congratulated himself. Considering words were often his weakness, he decided he wasn't doing too bad after all.

"Sesshourmaru and I have discussed this thoroughly and have come to the conclusion..." Inuyasha paused. "Kagome Higurashi, as an irreplaceable part of the company, you have been promoted to the title of Vice President. It's actually the first VP this company has ever had since its creation."

Kagome squeaked in surprising, looking around her in surprise. How could they do this to her? She hadn't been given any heads up or time to prepare. Feeling warm, Kagome fanned her face and stumbled forward.

_An irreplaceable...?_

The small marketing firm she had worked at before this had praised her often, telling her that her people skills made her popular with both coworkers and clients. Her dedication and attention to detail were icing on the cake. Still, being promoted to _Vice President _at the age of twenty-one after only working there for a month seemed completely ridiculous. Then again, Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha had both inherited the company at a very, very young age; perhaps it didn't seem as weird to them?

"Whoa," was all she managed to gasp once she brought the microphone to her lips.

The crowd laughed and shouted their congratulations to her, no one looking particularly upset or angry about her promotion. It seemed that her reputation was a lot more sterling than she'd known—people who knew her were happy and supportive, while those had only ever heard of her (it _was _a big company after all) had only heard good things. It also seemed obvious to everyone that she was close with both Youkai brothers, although no one was quite sure what to make of that.

Plus, if she really sucked at her new job, Sesshoumaru would just fire her. He put the company above all else.

Kagome thanked the crowd and smiled at Sesshoumaru. When she mouthed "thank you" to him, he responded with a dignified dip of his head. She then turned to Inuyasha and graced him with the biggest grin she had ever given anyone, and he practically melted at her feet. Kagome winked at him, and he decided on the spot that someday, he sort everything out with this woman—and no matter what, he'd make sure she stood by his side, even if it was just as friends.

She winked at him and he swore right then that someday he'd finally be able to confront his odd feelings about the woman.

"Let's go celebrate!" Ayame shouted, waving her arms to get Kagome's attention. She handed the microphone back to Sesshoumaru and started down the steps, weaving her way through the crowd of chattering employees. Inuyasha watched her for several seconds before he got the nerve to call out to her.

"Hey, Kagome!"

"Yes, sir?" she asked, turning back towards the stage and standing on her tip-toes to get a better look at him.

Inuyasha smirked. "You still owe me ice cream!"

**The End**

However, their story continues in the sequel: _Aftermath's Destruction_.


End file.
